Persona 4 FES: The New Generation
by Xoraan
Summary: It is 2022 and Nanako Dojima is sixteen and is living comfortably in a normal life in Yasogami High, until Ken Amada becomes her new teacher. Souji and the investigation team vanish, S.E.E.S returns to fight and a masked man seems to be behind it all.
1. Chapter 1 New players

Author's notes: My first chapter of my first story on . I really like what my imagination came up with. This story will get to the action in the second chapter, but this chapter's basically an introduction for new characters and what everyone's been doing in after ten years after the events of Persona 4. All of S.E.E.S from persona 3 will be there, and some other familiar characters like Maiko, so please read and review this.

VVVVV

_?, May 25th 2022_

In the midst of the night with a sky of a black void, a man rose up from his throne and straightens his clothes. The man, looking clean and unscratched and looked like he was in his twenties, stood in the ruins of castle that once held so much glory yet now holds nothing but an atmosphere of defeat. The man wore plain white trousers of high-class businessmen and a black shirt covered with a white jacket that made him luminous. His hair was fairly long, tied in a ponytail and went down just below his shoulders. And the most ominous of all, his wore a mask that only left the bottom left of his face exposed. The mask was shaped like a butterfly wing on the right and the wing was shaded in crimson red.

The man looked around, gazing through the large stone wall that was no longer there, on the prize he had so easily won. Though the castle was in ruin the man could see a lush green field of the size of several football fields. Beyond that was a forest with dark green leafs shrouding the top and a darkness that shrouded whatever was under the sea of leafs. At the horizon were mountains in the distance with bleach white snow covered tops. The man smirked in amusement, as he won this entire world without much of a fight.

"Well, well, well," he said "You shouldn't be waiting for me to give you the order to report to me about what you found... Tozu."

From the shadows a blonde spiked haired man jumped out and took a crouching bow as he landed. The newcomer had pure white vest with a diagonal navy blue stripe going across it with a pure black shirt underneath and he wore tattered jeans.

"My apologies Sire," he responded "An analysis has been completed on your next target."

"Within my brother's territory I presume?"

The blonde man smirked "Yes. Your brother has no confirmation of us within his terrain. But to get to the point Sir, how would you like to own _all _of your brother's territory?"

"...You mean to start a _Crusade tourney_?" The masked man asked "As tempting as it is Tozu, my brother's lands do not accommodate suitable warriors, so we can't initiate a tourney when there are a lack of players. Those are the rules of the tourneys."

Once again the one who kneeled smirked. "Ah. That is what I have to report to you about Sire. The world I sent our recon units to, have made an extraordinary discovery. It seems there are less than two dozen mortals who possess the 'potential of the soul' on that world, and a few more who are capable of achieving it. The tourney needs at least five players in the opposition, no?"

The eyes that were visible in the eye slits of the mask widened. "Less than two dozen? In one world? Normally a single world is only capable of producing one or two mortals that can possess the 'potential of the soul', yet there are more than a dozen on one? My brother must have something to do with it."

"There may be more who possess the potential on that world Sir, though our recon units can't seem to spot them. The ones we have found, we have our eyes on."

The masked man walked to the edge of the rubble in the ruins. "And how many of those you said could obtain the potential are there?"

"Five, Sire."

"..."

"Um... Sire?"

"...Alright." The masked man finally announced. "I'll personally visit those five. Send a messenger to my brother; tell him that the tourney will begin in the next few months and that I'll choose his warriors for him."

"Are you allowed to do that Sire?"

"According to the rules of the Crusade tourney the one who announces the challenge has the liberty to choose who takes part, where it will be held, who will be spectators and how it will be played. My brother will have no say in who will take part."

"Then I shall notify your messengers Sire. All of the universe will be in your possession if-, no, _when_ we win the tourney." And as the blonde man finished his sentence he vanished, leaving a gust of wind following his amazing speed.

The masked man returned to his throne as graceful as a swan and sat down, resting his elbows neatly on the armrests. Then laying his chin in the palm of his hand he said "Soon, it will all be mine. Brother, I will not fall like our father did. No, I will finally be a god."

With his other hand he lifted it up and a slightly transparent image of a blue world appeared. "How interesting." The masked man commented "This one world contains so many treasures. What was it called? Ah, yes. Earth."

_Inaba, two months later, July 24th 2022_

A young woman ran through the fields of green, feeling the warm air pass through and around her hair. She ran with joy as she looked up at the blue sky with pure white clouds passing over her. She span around and around until she finally fell in the grass with a laugh. Not wanting to stop, she got up and took her first steps as she sprinted again in the fields of-

"Nanako Dojima!"

Nanako's eyelids snapped open as she realised there was water on her desk where her head laid. Then realising it came from her mouth, she shot up from her seat, shut her mouth and wiped her slightly wet cheek. "Y-yes Miss Sofue?"

The woman at the front of the room wearing a pharaoh's headdress shook her head. "I understand that you study hard most of the time and evenings are the hardest times of the day to stay awake, but you must stay awake for your classes, understand?"

Nanako dropped her head and blushed in embarrassment. "I-I understand, Ms. Sofue."

Ms. Sofue nodded and turned back to the board. With that, a female student on Nanako's right smiled sheepishly and whispered "Busted."

"Oh be quiet Miwa." Nanako whispered back "I'm feeling really out of it today and I don't need my friends to tell me where I went wrong. Besides, I still get straight A's, regardless whether I sleep in class or not."

The student called Miwa shrugged "Yeah, I guess that's true. The teachers shouldn't really bother you when you get good grades but they do anyway. But you have to admit, it was hilarious when everyone saw you drooling."

Nanako sighed. Sixteen years old and yet she earned the respect of a kindergartener from her childhood friend. After Souji Seta and his friends' miraculous victory over the fog that shrouded Inaba and even a goddess of hell itself, nine had passed since those times. Over the years since that time Nanako had grown curious about what her Big Bro had done in the strange world inside the televisions. But after living with her Big Bro for a year, she had learned how to smooth-talk and be dangerously charismatic when she needed to know something. Teddie pretty much grovelled like a dog when she smoothed-talked him into telling her everything what happened ten years ago. Now Nanako knew that her Big Bro was a real hero and that she was really fortunate to have someone like him to look up to.

Now Nanako was sixteen and no longer the shy little girl Inaba remembers. She had grown to be a beautiful young woman. Her two pigtail hairstyle had not changed though she let her fringe grow a bit and her hair had become slightly curly. Her body grew considerably well as she was no longer a little girl but a teenage girl with good angles and curves, and the school uniform didn't show much of it, but enough for the guys to look her way. Though she didn't realise it, with good looks, intellect and a voice that could lure any man, she was one of the most attractive girls in Yasogami Highschool.

Her friend Miwa was fairly attractive. Only an inch shorter than Nanako, she had an elegant face and dark hair that went down to halfway down her back. She also wore a yellow choker on her neck as her trademark. Miwa chuckled. "Well it was pretty funny. Hey, have you heard about the new transfers this year?"

Nanako shook her head "Not at all. This is the first time I've heard of it. There's more than one transfer student coming?"

"Well yeah. A transfer student that's going be in this class comes from overseas. I heard her parents divorced twelve years ago and she lives with her mother."

"Woah, must've been hard for her, especially at such a young age." Nanako replied "But you said 'transfers', which must mean there's more than one transfer student coming to this school."

"Yup!" said Miwa "There are two others that are coming to this class. One of them comes from Kyoto; he's said to be a descendant of Japanese royalty."

"And the other student?"

"Well that's what all the girls in this class are talking about. Our homeroom teacher, Mr Edo, is retiring."

Nanako put on a confused look on her face. "So? We all know that. I mean, we pretty much threw a party at your place to celebrate the fact he was leaving."

Miwa's face suddenly lit up "I know, but the third transfer to this class is a new teacher! He came from someplace called Iwatodai and he's coming here for a job as an educator! He's going be our new homeroom teacher! I heard he's like twenty-two and he's cute!"

Nanako tilted her head slightly to the right "But I thought you still had a crush on Takeyoshi-kun."

Miwa's smile twisted into a grimace "Please don't bring that up. You know that was years ago!"

Nanako smiled. She still hadn't lost her touch in smooth-talking people into embarrassing themselves.

"_RRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGG!"_

"Finally, history class is over!" declared Miwa "Now to wait for Mr Edo to come in and introduce the new guys! I hope they're really cute and handsome as the rumours say."

"Don't get your hopes up."

Miwa and Nanako turned to see Yuuta Minami, the class clown Nanako's closest male friend. He was wearing the traditional Yasogami High uniform, except with Featherman R badges on his collar. "I heard that royal descendent guy's a delinquent. He's got record of bashing up a few skinheads back in Kyoto."

Miwa glared at him. "So what? He's got a record for fights and you have a record of failing your mid- terms over and over last year."

Yuuta stepped back to defend his esteem. "H-hey, it's not like I'm proud of it!"

Nanako laughed. She met Yuuta when she entered Yasogami High and they became friends very quickly when they discovered their relationship with Souji. Now her Big bro's so-called trouble child when he worked at the day care ten years ago had become one of her best friends and her comedy gold mine.

Of course, she got her laughing habit from her Big bro's girlfriend Yukiko. Nanako went to visit Yukiko every Saturday after school as both of them felt really close through their connection with Souji. Nanako eventually started to call Yukiko 'Big Sis' as she really did think Yukiko as a big sister.

"Oh come on Nanako!" Yuuta retaliated "It's not that funny!" Yuuta cleared his throat "Ahem, anyways, can I come with you to the Amagi inn today? I heard your good friends with the upcoming manager. We could bring the new guys."

Miwa beamed. "That's the smartest thing I've heard from you all year! We should definitely bring the new transfer students to the Amagi inn, that way we can go in for a dip in the hot spring!"

Nanako nodded. "Well sure, we can go together with the new students, but I don't think that Big Sis will let us in the hot spring today. A whole lot of new guests just flocked in from America last week and they're always using the springs. And- hey are you listening Yuuta?"

Yuuta had his eyes closed, his arms crossed, a dreamy smile on his face and his head facing the ceiling. "Hmm... Nanako in the hot springs huh?"

Nanako gave him a punch to the stomach, something she learned from Chie Satonaka of the police force. "Keep your thoughts to yourself!" shouted Nanako.

"Ugh... sorry" apologised Yuuta in a pathetic tone as he laid on the floor bracing his stomach.

"Alright kids, back to your seats." Announced a middle age man who just came through the door of class 2-F.

Everyone settled back into their chairs as Mr. Edo stood at the front of the classroom. "Today, as you know, is my last day here in Yasogami High school." he began "And two new transfer students also start tomorrow. But I've insisted that they come here this period to catch a familiarity with this class." Mr Edo gestured to the door. "Come introduce yourself Ms. Shurei."

A young girl wearing the Yasogami High girl's uniform entered. She was fairly tall, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail that extended down to her hips and a red briefcase. Her ponytail was tied with a pink ribbon. "Hi, my name's Maiko Shurei, it's nice to meet you!"

Every male student in the class began to whisper.

"Man she's cute..."

"What do you think my chances are with her?"

"Zero dude."

"Alright that's enough." called Mr. Edo "Now come in Mr. Tenno."

Next came a young man who also wore Yasogami High uniform, but with one exception, his trousers had tears in them. He wore a plain earring on his ear and had a small scar on his neck. Wrapped around his hands were bandages that looked like there would be more on his upper arms. His most notable feature was his short hair. It was dyed dark green. "...Reiji Tenno."

This time the girls began to whisper.

"Green hair? Who dyes their hair green?"

"I dunno but it makes him look so cool!"

"I'm not sure we should be idolizing someone like him though..."

"He doesn't look like a descendent of royalty."

Mr. Edo turned to the class "Settle down everyone, don't make me repeat myself. And as you also know, a new teacher has come from Iwatodai to step in as your homeroom teacher. Please give Mr. Amada a warm welcome."

Class turned to see a young man step into the room. He wore an orange jacket with a hood and a white collar shirt underneath with a black ribbon tied under the collar. He also wore brown tight jeans showing off how slim and long his legs were. He had light brown short hair and a face of a young man in his twenties.

Mr. Edo walked to the young man and put his hand on his shoulder. "Class, this is Ken Amada and he will be 2-F's homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. He's moved into Inaba for personal reasons and took the job as a teacher here."

Ken Amada waved to the class. "Hi, it'll be a pleasure to get to know all of you for this year."

Everyone started whispering.

"Eek! He looks so young! He's handsome too!"

"How old do you think he is? Eighteen? Twenty? "

"Come on, he's a teacher. You shouldn't fall for someone like him."

"So what? Just because you're ugly doesn't mean you should have an immediate grudge on someone who isn't."

"Hey!"

"What did I say about repeating myself?" called out Mr. Edo. The whole room went quiet. "Now then, this period you'll be introducing Mr. Amada to yourselves and the school facilities. This will be my last goodbye as your teacher and I'm proud to say that most of you were very good students _except_ some certain people. And when I mean 'some certain people' I mean Yuuta over there."

'SLAM!' Yuuta banged his forehead on his desk. "I keep telling you... I'm not proud of it."

"Very well, I'll leave them to you Mr. Amada." said Mr. Edo as he walked out of the room.

Ken made his way to his desk and placed his things on it. "Umm... Maiko and... Reiji right? You guys will probably need a seat for this year. Any available seats?"

Miwa put up her hand all jumpy. "Oh! There's one behind my friend here!"

"Okay," replied Ken "Maiko you can sit behind..."

"Nanako Dojima, Amada-sensei."

"Thank you Nanako. Now I think Reiji can go to that vacant desk next to the student with Featherman R badges on his collar."

Yuuta looked up at the new student with green hair. "N-next to me?"

Reiji walked to the vacant desk and whispered to Yuuta as he passed by "Got a problem with that?" Yuuta swiftly shook his head as he broke out in cold sweat.

Nanako spoke up "Amada-sensei, that seat's taken."

Ken smiled at the remark. "Well as one of my former teachers say, 'you have to be present to be part of this class'." At the end of the discussion Ken Amada took a seat and said "So... who's the first person who's going to telling me their names?"

_Three quarters of an hour later_

The school day was done and half of Yasogami's students had left the building in haste for their favourite TV show, getting a bite at Aiya's or maybe some of them had ditched school early. Nanako was still at her desk packing all of her things as Yuuta and Miwa walked up to her.

"Hey Nanako." spoke Yuuta "Ready to head off to the Amagi inn?"

"Almost." replied Nanako "Just give me a minute. Weren't we supposed to invite Maiko-san and Reiji-san? The new students probably haven't been around much of Inaba yet."

Miwa gestured to Maiko who just stepped back into the classroom. "Oh Maiko's coming. I asked her if she could come with us while you were asleep again." Nanako slapped her own forehead.

"Hey don't look at me." said Yuuta "I'm not gonna ask someone who's probably fought Yakuza members before to come with us."

"Then maybe I should invite myself."

The three friends jumped and turned to see Reiji behind them. "I heard my name being used in your conversation just now, so I thought you were spreading rumours about me. Apparently I was half right. Anyway, could I come along too? It's true I haven't been in Inaba long so..."

Nanako put on a smile for him. "Sure! You can come. The more, the merrier right?"

"Th-thanks" replied Reiji as he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck with a slight blush.

"Aww, how cute! The new tough guy has a shy side to him!"

Everyone turned to the source of the new voice to see Maiko smiling at them. "Thanks for inviting me. I was afraid that I'd have trouble making friends so I really appreciate this."

Yuuta put a 'thumbs up' sign at her. "Hey no prob! I was afraid you were going to say no."

While Maiko, Miwa, Reiji and Yuuta chatted amongst themselves, Nanako felt a slight tap on her shoulders. She turned to see her new teacher. "Hi there... Nanako was it?"

Nanako nodded "Hello Amada-sensei."

Ken shook his head. "Please, call me Ken. I'm not used to being called sensei, sounds like as if I'm old and I'm only twenty-two."

Nanako's eyes widen at the fact he was only twenty-two and already a teacher. Then she stood up and grabbed her briefcase. "Is there something you need Ken-san?"

Ken nodded and smiled when she used his name like he requested. "Could I come with you to Amagi inn? There's a good friend of mine who's staying there on business and I'd like to see him, but I'm not sure how to get there."

"Of course Ken-san. I wouldn't be able to say no to a teacher anyways."

Ken nodded again. "Thank you so much."

"HHEEEEEEEEYYYYYYY!" Nanako and Ken looked outside the window and saw Maiko, Reiji, Miwa and Yuuta looking up at them on the ground floor. Yuuta was jumping up and down "You coming Nanako?"

Nanako chuckled and turned to Ken. "Let's get going."

_Mt. Inaba, Amagi inn bus stop_

"What a long ride." sighed Miwa as the six of them got off the bus. Miwa moved the hair infront of her face. "How can you make such long trips every Saturday Nanako?"

"It's all worth it." replied Nanako as she straightened her skirt. "I like seeing Big Sis every week."

"Your big sister?" asked Reiji "She works here?"

Nanako shook her head. "Oh no, Yukiko isn't really my older sister. She's the daughter of the inn's manager and she's the next one in line. The inn's run by her entire family. That's why it's called the Amagi inn, Amagi is Big Sis's family name."

Ken stood up after straightening the ends of his tight jeans. "If she really isn't related to you, then why do you call her 'Big Sis'? Was she a close friend of yours when you were young?"

"Yeah, she was really kind to me back when I was little, and she still is. My cousin, Souji, lived here in Inaba for a year and I ended up viewing him as a really close older brother. He met Big Sis when he was here and they became very close. They started dating and everyone saw that they'd fallen in love, even though it was embarrassing to reveal that to everyone.

"Woah." said Yuuta "Souji-san loved her? I didn't imagine that when he took care of me and my mom at the day care. I was always afraid he was hitting on my mom."

Nanako gave Yuuta a glare before continuing. "Big Bro left after the year was over though. Big Sis had to stay here to inherit the inn. They have a long-distance relationship and Big Bro comes back for a few weeks every year to visit me and Big Sis. When he's not here, they give each other calls every day."

"Wow." said Maiko "They must really be in love to go that far for each other."

"Yep!" Nanako responded with a grin. "That's right! Let's go see Big Sis now! I bet she's at the front desk waiting for me."

The six of them walked up the road to the Amagi inn that sat halfway up Mt. Inaba. Reiji went up to Nanako and asked "What does your cousin do anyway?"

"Oh, he's a detective like my dad. A private eye you might say."

Reiji's eyes widened "A detective? Your dad and your Big Bro?"

"Yep! A couple of times Big Bro comes here he works together with Naoto-kun."

Miwa turned to Nanako. "Naoto? As in Detective princess Shirogane? I'm a huge fan of her! Your Big brother worked with her! He has to be in her league or she wouldn't even consider him a good investigation partner!"

"Well Big bro and Naoto-kun were part of Big bro's group of friends. I met Naoto on a regular basis with Big bro."

"You're friends with Naoto Shirogane!" exclaimed Yuuta "Why didn't you tell me? I heard even if she dresses up like a guy most of the time she's really hot!"

Miwa gave Yuuta a punch to the back of the head. "Thoughts above the waist please."

Everyone else but Miwa and Yuuta laughed. Maiko finally got her composure back. "Ha ha, you must never be bored with these two around as your friends Nanako-san."

"Heh, yeah. Of course, I was never bored with Big Bro Souji. His friends were really nice. They all saved my life ten years ago..." said Nanako.

"Saved your life? How-"

Then Nanako got a look of concern when she saw the main entrance to the inn. Police cars were parked outside and a middle age man in a brown collar top and a jacket held by his hand and hung over his shoulder was talking with a silver haired officer who looked like he was in his late-thirties. "W-what's my dad doing here?"

Reiji looked over to get a better look. "That guy with the cigarette and the jacket on his shoulder is your dad?"

Ken peered over at the two officers. "Hey, that's the friend I was telling you about, the guy who's talking with your father, Nanako."

Yuuta looked excited. "Let's see what're they're up to."

The six of them ran to the police cars as Ryotaro Dojima spotted his daughter running towards him. "Nanako, what are you- oh that's right. You come up here every Saturday after school to see Yukiko."

"D-dad." began Nanako "What's happened here?"

"Well-"

"Akihiko-san!" shouted Ken as he ran towards the silver haired police officer.

"Ken? Is that you!" responded the officer who had been called Akihiko.

Ken stopped in front of Akihiko and puffed out breath. "Ha ha, surprised? What're doing in Inaba Akihiko-san? Mitsuru told me you were here on business but you're part of the Iwatodai police force, you shouldn't be over here."

Akihiko's face turned serious and said "We'll talk about that somewhere else." He turned the Ryotaro. "Excuse Dojima-san, I need a word with my friend here."

"Oh, go ahead." replied Ryotaro. As Ken and Akihiko walked into the inn he continued with Nanako. "Well you see Nanako... Yukiko's missing."

Nanako gasped "Big Sis is missing! For how long?"

Her father put his hand on his head. "About five days now. She disappeared after she walked out with a man described to have been in a black hood."

Maiko faced her new friend's father. "You don't think she-"

Ryotaro shook his head. "No, definitely not. She wouldn't cheat on my nephew like that, considering how close they are. I've been trying to contact Shirogane and Satonaka to help out with searching for her considering they are both on the police force and are two of Yukiko's closest friends, but I can't seem to get through to them by phone."

Nanako looked down and then looked up at her father in concern. "You don't think they've gone missing too?"

"That's what's actually the disturbing part of it. I sent some officers to notify the two of them, but their home's entrances had signs of forced entry and neither Shirogane or Officer Satonaka were at home, meaning both Naoto Shirogane and Chie Satonaka may also be missing like you said Nanako. They were last seen three days ago." Ryotaro pulled the cigarette he was smoking on out of his mouth and extinguished it under his foot. He sighed "And then I got a hunch that they weren't the only ones."

Nanako's eyes widened and she gasped "You don't think that..."

Ryotaro shook his head. "I went to Tatsumi Textiles to check on Kanji and Mrs. Tatsumi hasn't seen her son for days. Even the Hanamura's haven't seen Yosuke or their mascot Teddie for four days now. And have you heard of Rise Kujikawa?"

Maiko spoke up "That idol? The one who debuted eleven years ago?"

Ryotaro nodded. "That's right. Her manager says that she's taking a break and won't be showing to the media. But he called us four days ago to ask if she was in Inaba, apparently she's disappeared too." He pinched his skin between his eyes. "This isn't looking good."

"W-wait." Yuuta started "What does Rise Kujikawa have to do with this?"

Nanako looked at him. "She was one of Big Bro's friends as well as all the other people my dad just mentioned."

Yuuta stepped back in surprised "You serious! Souji-san's a friend of _the_ Rise Kujikawa! You should tell me this stuff!"

Reiji stepped in. "Other than that surprise, does this mean anyone related to this Souji Seta is being targeted by some kidnapper?"

"That's not necessarily the case." replied Detective Ryotaro "I went around town checking on people that knew Souji back in Yasogami High; Yumi Ozawa, Ai Ebihara, Naoko Konishi, Kou Ichijo and even Daisuke Nagase. All of them are safe but we're still keeping an eye on them."

Nanako began to stutter "W-what about Big Bro?"

Ryotaro looked at his daughter in question. "What?"

Nanako spoke louder. "What about Big Bro! Is he okay!"

Ryotaro looked confused for a second and then panicked the next. "Oh shit! How could I forget!" He started dialling his mobile phone in haste. "If Kujikawa was overseas and was targeted, then it would make perfect sense that Souji could be kidnapped too!" He lifted the phone to his ear and waited for someone to pick up. Then in frustration, he let his hand down from his ear. "Dammit! I can't get through! Maybe my sister may know where he is."

He dialled again and the sound of someone picking up was heard. "Tsuruko, has Souji been at your house lately? ...Right. Yeah... no, it's nothing. Alright...bye." Ryotaro let his phone down again. "... Souji went on a case five days ago and Tsuruko hasn't heard from him since." Ryotaro curled his fist "Dammit, what kind of a detective am I if I couldn't realise something like this earlier?"

"No..." whispered Nanako. She slipped to her knees and her arms hanged at her sides. "Big Bro too? Why is everyone disappearing?"

Then she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She looked up and saw Maiko trying to comfort her. "Hey, Nanako-san... Don't get all upset because something close to you is suddenly gone. I learned a long time ago some people do some things that may end up looking like something else to other people." Seeing the Maiko's eyes, Nanako knew she was telling the truth. "If this guy really is a brother to you, we'll just have to get up and search for him. He might not be in Inaba, but then again, he might've been here all along. We can't look for him if we stay here and sulk."

Reiji spoke up. "She's right. And I'm not planning to stand here and watch when the friends of someone who really helped me out are missing. I'll help in any way I can Nanako-san."

"Same here." Yuuta stepped in to place his hand on Nanako's other shoulder. "We're your friends Nanako, we ain't just gonna act like this has nothing to do with us."

Miwa knelt in front of Nanako. "I hate to admit it, but Yuuta's right. You're not alone."

"Th-thank you everyone..." Nanako finally got to her feet and wiped away the tears that just came out during their speeches. Nanako opened her eyes and the reflection of her eyes showed her new resolution. "Alright, let's go look for Big Bro and my friends."

Yuuta got up and yelled "Alright! Nanako's back in the game! Maybe we'll see some of that leadership stuff you did back at the soccer finals last year!"

"Soccer finals?" asked Maiko as she stood up straight.

"Yeah, Nanako was captain of the soccer team last year. Man, you should've seen her kick; I was the other striker on the team. The ball practically went on fire and through the net!"

"Okay, enough about my history." Nanako got back on her feet. "We'll all spread out and meet up at the Moel Gas station at five. Here's a photo of Big Bro and I with his friends ten years ago." She took out her wallet and gave them a look at the photo in it. "Miwa, Yuuta, you guys check the residential areas."

Miwa nodded. "Already on it leader! Come on Yuuta!" She away from the group and went down the hill.

"H-hey, wait up!" Yuuta yelled while chasing her "W-wait! Shouldn't we take the next bus!"

As the two ran into the distance Reiji stepped forward. "I visited the shopping district yesterday, so I know a little bit of it. It's not that far from here either."

"Alright." said Nanako "Then you can check the shopping district. Maiko and I can go to Samegawa River."

With a nod Reiji jogged down the hill.

"So..." Maiko began "Shall we get going?"

"Sure."

The two girls walked down Mt. Inaba as Ryotaro Dojima stood there watching the teenagers run.

'_They've forgotten about me...'_ thought Ryotaro. '_Ah well. These kids seem capable enough to protect Nanako. I still can't believe she's already sixteen.'_ He looked at the sky, reminiscing. _'Heh. They sure remind me of Souji and the rest back then.'_

_Inaba, Amagi inn lobby_

Ken and Akihiko sat down in the inn's lobby, noticing how there weren't many people there.

"Okay Akihiko." began Ken "What did Mitsuru-san send you here for? Your part of the Iwatodai police force, so the only reason you would come here is that the Kirijo group sent you here with their authority. I don't think Mitsuru-san would've sent you here for a holiday."

"You're getting sharper Ken." Replied Akihiko as he put a smirk. Then the second after that the smirk disappeared and was replaced with a look of seriousness. "Mitsuru believes there may be Persona Users in this town."

Ken took on a look of surprise. "P-Persona! But the Dark hour's gone! We can't summon our personas anymore right?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Two years ago I was helping out with a case that involved people stealing other people's Personas, leaving the victims with Apathy Syndrome. Apparently personas can be used in real time, it's just that we lose control over them when we reach a certain age."

Akihiko cleared his throat. "But ten years ago Mitsuru ordered the destruction of all persona related technology besides our Evokers. Then she stumbled on the radar screen for one of the Kirijo group satellites. The satellite was used to detect Persona Users, in other words it was supposed to be a larger amplifier for Mitsuru's analysing skills."

"Did it work?" asked Ken

"Ha!" was Akihiko's reply. He seemed to be almost amused "The project was a complete failure. It seems even electronic equipment that can operate in the Dark Hour couldn't respond during the Dark Hour while outside of the Earth's atmosphere." He straightened his collar and the serious look returned "But the radar was completely functional, scanning all of Japan. And to make matters worse, there were three blimps on the radar."

"Three?" asked Ken "Those were probably just us right? There were only eight of us after S.E.E.S disbanded and as you said, we can't use personas after we reach a certain age."

Akihiko shook his head. "No Ken. These three blimps were separate ones from the blimps detected in Iwatodai. We expected to be several there, but three other blimps were detected here in Inaba."

Ken became stunned at the new information. "W-what?"

"Mitsuru then asked Yasogami High to send their second-years and first-years to Port Island for a closer inspection. That was ten years ago, we told the school that it was for an educational experience, but it was actually cover for inspecting the students ,as teenagers usually develop the potential more than others."

Akihiko stood up and walked to the side of the room. "The good news was that we confirmed there were Persona Users among them. The bad news was that the number had grown from three to seven. Then by the end of the year Mitsuru used the radar again and detected nine of them in Inaba."

Ken took a few seconds to register the information. "A-and where are the nine now?"

"That's why I'm here." said Akihiko "One of them was located in a penitentiary. The other eight however... vanished off the radar."

"Vanished? You mean they died and the potential went with them?"

"No Ken, if they died they potential signal would weaken and weaken until it wearied out. But the signals just vanished, like they weren't in the world anymore. Mitsuru sent me here to investigate and find out what happened to them. I believe there're connected to the disappearances of Inaba residents."

"Disappearances?" asked Ken "You mean the one about the upcoming inn manager here? I heard rumours that she was missing while we walked around the inn."

Akihiko pulled down the gloves he wore. "Yeah, I believe she's one of Persona Users we detected."

"So everyone that's suddenly gone missing in Inaba may be a Persona User?"

"Not necessarily. The officer you saw outside with me was Detective Dojima, I asked him to give me files on citizens and permanent residents here. I have a few names here that have gone missing in the last few days. Yukiko Amagi, Yosuke Hanamura, Kanji Tatsumi, Naoto Shirogane, Chie Satonaka , Rise Kujikawa and even some guy called Teddie. All of them have gone missing. The only connection I managed to link all of them to is that the six of them attended Yasogami High and that Teddie guy was Hanamura's store mascot."

"Rise Kujikawa? The Idol?" asked Ken "She's missing too?"

"Apparently." replied Akihiko "This may explain seven of the eight other Persona Users, but I'm still working on the eighth one."

Then Akihiko's phone began to vibrate. Akihiko took it out of his pocket and saw Ryotaro's number on the screen. He answered the call "Officer Sanada speaking."

"Officer Sanada" said Ryotaro on the other side "I might've found an eighth missing person that attended Yasogami High."

"Continue." said Akihiko, gaining interest.

"Souji Seta. He is my nephew and he stayed here for a year in my house. He attended Yasogami High for that year and has a close relationship with Yukiko Amagi."

"Alright, I'll check the details when I get back to the station." Akihiko hung up and put his phone away. "That was Dojima. He's discovered the eighth missing person. His nephew, Souji Seta who happens to be Yukiko Amagi's boyfriend."

"Wait, Souji Seta?" Ken stood up with a look of concern.

"What is it Ken?"

"Souji Seta happens to be the surrogate brother of Nanako Dojima, my student and Detective Dojima's daughter."

Akihiko's eyes widened. "Your student?"

Ken replied "Yes, I remember her saying that he was Yukiko Amagi's lover."

"Well the goddess of fate must be laughing at us now." said Akihiko as he put his hand to his forehead.

Ken started to put the pieces together. "I also remember her saying that Souji had a group of friends, Rise Kujikawa was one of them."

"Sounds logical. If they were all Persona Users then probably be around each other a lot."

"Th-that's not all." Ken continued "I heard that they all saved her life ten years ago."

Akihiko became very serious. "Ten years ago? That's too much of a coincidence." Akihiko pulled out a folded file from his uniform jacket. "There was also a murder case that was considered a phenomenon that occurred ten years ago. An announcer and a Yasogami High third-year were found dead hanging on a TV antenna and an electricity pole. The cause of death was said to be an unknown poison. The murderer was former detective Tohru Adachi. He was sent to prison after his sentence was judged."

"Prison? You mean, like a penitentiary?"

Akihiko slapped his forehead. "I should've known! Why didn't I see that? Adachi must be the ninth Persona User, killing the two with his powers! The police file says he was caught by several anonymous students! Those eight missing people must've been the students who caught him!"

"Then the whole case has something to do with personas," said Ken "That explains how Mitsuru's radar picked up signals. I can't imagine what Nanako has to do with it, but she said she was saved by them, so she might've been Adachi's target."

Akihiko stepped into the hallway. "I'm going to the station to find out more of this, you coming?"

Ken nodded "Yeah." Then he thought '_But why do I get the feeling that Nanako's going to get mixed up in this again?'_

_Inaba, 500 metres above ground level_

The man in the red butterfly mask had waited a long time for this. His troops were ready as he recruited hundreds in the past two months, both human and non-human alike. Now was the time to awaken the new players of the game.

He stared down on Inaba as rain began to lightly drop to the ground. He was however unaffected by the rain as if it wasn't there in his space. Still dry and clean, the man looked down to the two children running between houses, one jogging through a street of stores and two walking along the river. The masked man smirked and murmured "The tourney preliminaries round one starts now."

VVVVV

Authors notes: Surrogate means substitute and penitentiary is another name for prison.

Well the first chapter's done and I'll start on the second very soon. Read and review please!


	2. Chapter 2 Awakenings

Authors notes: This stuff takes a long time to write with exams going on -_-. Anyways, here's chapter two and we'll get to the action soon, so read and review!

P.S. I know that in Persona 3 the protagonist doesn't teach Maiko martial arts and self defence, but I needed to add that for the story plot later on.

* * *

_Inaba, Samegawa Flood plain_

"So Nanako..." Maiko began as she scouted the area in the light rain "How did this Souji guy become your Big brother?"

"Well..." began Nanako "When he first moved into my house I thought of him as some guy who I hadn't met before and was related to me." Nanako went down the stone steps leading to the riverbed and sat on one of the nearby tree stumps. "But then we started talking to each other a lot. Dad was always coming home late so it was pretty much just me and Big Bro there."

Maiko sat on the stump next to Nanako. "Huh, so it started off slow right?"

Nanako nodded "Uh huh. Then I went out with Big Bro one day and met his friends. Bid Sis was one of them and I think Yosuke-kun and Chie-san were there too. The others weren't friends with Big Bro yet so it was just us five. When I saw Big Bro and his friends I realised that Big Bro was really kind and that maybe he shouldn't have been such a total stranger to my eyes. His friends were really nice too. Yosuke was especially funny. In fact, I think Chie-san was the one who got me starting to call Souji Big Bro in the first place."

"And all this happened when you were five?" asked Maiko

"Yeah," replied Nanako "I was really young back then. But what got me to love Souji like a big brother was that he showed that..." Nanako sadly smiled "... that my dad really did love me."

Maiko paused and then asked "You felt as if you weren't loved by your dad right?"

Nanako looked at Maiko and slowly nodded "Yeah. He wasn't home most of the time and he always left me at the house because of his work. My mom died in a hit and run incident. Dad told me it was an accident at the time because I was so little. I began to think he was forgetting mom and was going to forget me."

Nanako stood up and stared at the river, reminiscing. "Then Big Bro talked to me about it. He found that dad had a photo of me, mom and himself at this very river, sitting in a small patch of flowers. He told me that dad never forgot mom and he'll never forget me. Then we all went on a picnic. Just dad, Big bro and me. It was one of the happiest days of my life."

Nanako wiped away a small tear that had leaked out while she was remembering her most heart-felt memories. "Big Bro got dad and I back together again. It all turned out to be a misunderstanding and Big Bro fixed it. I got my dad back and I had a new older brother. And at one time my life was in danger and Dad had driven like a madman to find me but he got injured in the process. Big Bro rescued me instead and brought me to the hospital. He visited me with his friends almost everyday... it made me so happy" Nanako looked back at Maiko with a smile. "That's why Big Bro's so important to me. That's why I want to find him."

Maiko stared at Nanako for a few seconds and smiled while she closed her eyes. "I think I understand." Maiko got up and stood beside Nanako to stare at the river. "A long time ago, just before my parents got divorced, a high school boy always played with me, his name was Minato. He was really fun even though he didn't say a word unless he had to. Looking back now, I just feel a little silly for tricking him into giving me snacks by playing innocent when we first met at the playground near the shrine."

"What?" asked Nanako looking amused "You tricked him into buying you food?"

"Yep!" Maiko replied with a face that showed her feeling of triumph. "I talked to him about my parents. I thought they were getting divorced because they didn't want me anymore. So... I ran away."

"Ran away? I don't think that was the best option Maiko."

Maiko laughed. "Ha ha ha! Minato didn't think so either! But I did anyway and he consoled me through it and gave me the courage. Though I only ran away for a few hours. Minato somehow knew I'd be at the takoyaki store at the shopping district and led my parents to me. I didn't expect my parents to come for me. Then they told me that they didn't want to divorce because of me, it was because there was no love between my mom and dad anymore. So it all turned out to be a misunderstanding, like your situation with your dad Nanako."

Nanako gave a look of thanks at Maiko for her understanding. "So then what happened?"

Maiko turned back to the river. "My parents got divorced. I went with my mom and moved out of town. I was really sad to leave because I would never see Minato again. Before I knew it, I had let him into my heart. He was like an older brother to me too."

Maiko looked down with a face of depression replacing her happiness. Nanako got concerned and asked "Did something happen?"

"... He died."

"W-what?"

"He died." Maiko replied with a bitter frown. "I sent him a letter a few months after I left and my dad gave it to him. Then I got a call from dad. He said that the day after he gave Minato the letter... Minato died."

Maiko stared down on her reflection in the river and looked at her reflection showing sadness. "He showed me that my parents still loved me, he played with me and he even bought me snacks. He even taught how to defend myself with some martial art technique. And he died before I got a chance to grow up, come back to him and say a real thank you."

Nanako stood there, not knowing that Maiko had such a history with her cheerful personality. With her head down she said "...I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's not your fault." said Maiko as she turned away from the river and put on a smile. "I was the one who started blabbing about my past and you had nothing to do with his death. He taught me that sometimes enlightenment comes when sacrificing one's self to ensure the happiness of others. He did that for me and I'll never forget that."

Maiko skipped over to Nanako and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "So don't feel bad for me because of the friendship I had with Minato. If you feel bad about it, I'll feel bad about it too."

Nanako looked into Maiko's eyes and nodded. "Sure. Now let's get back to what we were doing before, looking for Big Bro and my friends."

As Nanako raced back up the stone steps, Maiko followed thinking '_Nanako, I know how it feels to lose someone important to you. Don't worry, I help you find them so you don't have to feel the same way I did when I heard Minato was dead.'_

Maiko took a look up at the cloudy sky that was letting light rain pour over Inaba as she raced with Nanako across the riverbed. _'Are you watching me...Minato?'_

_Inaba, Shirogane residence_

"Woah." was all Ken could say after setting foot in the large Shirogane estate and witnessing the carnage that was left behind. The entryway had claw marks slashed across it, the door had a huge hole in it leaving wooden splinters everywhere and bullet holes were found near the door and the slash marks, six bullet holes to be exact. "This place definitely doesn't say that a friend came over for tea."

"You got that right." Akihiko came through the ravaged hallway. "Apparently Shirogane was alone while her servant was out doing shopping at Junes, he's got a few Junes employees to vouch for him." Akihiko pointed to the bullet holes "According these, she used her revolver which she was licensed to. Her servant told me she took a liking to a .44 Magnum revolver. Six shots, no more. She must've been retained by her kidnapper before she could reload, either that or she did reload and she shot at her attacker and he left with her and the bullets."

Ken put his hand on the ravaged walls and passed it over the slash marks. "But for someone to walk away with a woman on his back without dropping any blood is very improbable. And these marks, they weren't made by a man or any manmade weapon; it's more like an animal attacked." Ken then looked at Akihiko. "Or maybe even..."

"A Shadow." Akihiko finished for him. "That's what I thought too. But a Shadow, wandering about in a small town like Inaba? Someone would've seen it and reported to the local authorities." Akihiko walked out of the hallway and placed his hand on the glass coffee table in the middle of the room. "No, this Shadow had intelligence and wasn't likely to have been alone."

"Then someone's leading the Shadows?" asked Ken.

Akihiko nodded. "Most likely. That's why I brought this." Akihiko brought out the gun that was resting in his holster. But the gun was of an unusual design, it was marked with the letters S.E.E.S.

Ken's eyes widened when Akihiko showed him the gun. "You brought your Evoker? I thought you said there was an age limit to using personas."

"That's what Mitsuru and I thought." replied Akihiko "But the case of people's personas being eaten by other personas and leaving the human victims either dead or in Apathy Syndrome brought up something startling. One old guy was using his persona to consume others, even though he was using those drug suppressants to control it. Then a boy, Shin, told me there might've not been an age limit at all. Mitsuru queried on this and she concluded that we might've lost faith in our personas, or in other words ourselves as we got older. Sure we all went off trying to make people not wish for death so much, but we lost belief in our power, the power of persona."

"Wow" was all Ken could say after that. Then he regained his voice. "Leave it to Mitsuru to make such a deep deduction. What's Mitsuru going to do about this anyway?"

"Well that's what I was going to tell you next. Mitsuru's getting S.E.E.S back together again."

Ken's mouth dropped. "You're kidding."

"Nope, not at all." Akihiko walked back into the hallway and out of the estate with Ken following behind. "Mitsuru got it all arranged. After she deducted that we could still use our personas and I told her that Shadows might have attacked the missing people, she called everyone. Yukari, Junpei, Aegis and Fuuka. All of them are probably being briefed about this in Iwatodai as we speak. Then they'll all be taking the same train to Inaba. They'll be here tomorrow morning."

Ken was flabbergasted. "The whole team's getting back together again? It'll be great to see them after all these years... wait, what about Koro-chan? He's got to be old by now."

Akihiko looked down on the pavement. "Well that's the depressing part. Koromaru's dead, old age got to him."

"Oh man." said Ken said in a sorrowful tone. "Poor Koromaru..."

"He's with Shinji and Minato now Ken. We'll all see them again someday. But Koromaru left us something special, his pup."

"Koromaru had puppies?" Ken asked "He must've been a happy dog to find someone."

"Indeed" replied Akihiko with a smile on his face. "I was there when the Koromaru's girl gave the puppies birth. Koromaru was running in circles, I had never seen him that happy before in my life." But then Akihiko turned serious again "Mitsuru gave one of the puppies Koromaru's Evoker collar as an heirloom to his father after he died. Then the young thing gave out some kind of sad howl and... Cerberus appeared."

Ken took on another look of surprise. "You mean the puppy inherited his father's persona? That's another miracle that I've heard or seen of since I gained my persona."

"You're telling me." Akihiko responded "I couldn't say a word when I saw that three-headed beast again as it howled above Mitsuru and me. Right now that puppy's the only one that can summon a persona and Mitsuru's taking care of it."

"What did she name him?"

Akihiko smirked. "Koromaru Junior"

Ken laughed. "Ha ha ha! Guess we couldn't let go of Koromaru that easily huh?"

Akihiko turned away and walked towards his car. "Well back to the subject, we'd better go to the station as planned and get ready to greet the others tomorrow."

Ken smiled. "Yeah, it'll be nice to see them again."

__

Inaba, Southern Shopping District 5:00 PM

The rain had poured harder as two runners raced into the shopping district. Wet and ragged, one of them stopped for breath.

"Come on slow poke!" Miwa yelled as she ran towards the Moel Gas station "We'll be late for the curfew with your speed!"

"Gimme a breather!" yelled Yuuta as he stumbled behind her "We're only a few metres away! There's no need to rush in this rain!"

Miwa sighed in annoyance and went back to Yuuta. "That's no excuse. Nanako wanted us to be at the gas station at five and we're going to be there, so hurry up!"

"Damn slave driver." Yuuta said under his breath.

Miwa gave him a death glare. "Care to say that again?"

Yuuta jerked upward and ran past her towards the gas station. "N-no ma'am!" Then he stopped again as he saw a figure in the rain. "Hey, Reiji's already here."

"More of the reason to get moving Yuuta."

"Y-yes ma'am!"

The two jogged towards Reiji as Reiji spotted them and waved. "Hey, did'ja find anything or anyone of them? I didn't find shit."

Yuuta stopped jogging in front of him and sighed. "Nope, nobody in that photo that Nanako showed us, that's for sure."

Miwa continued "We even asked a few residents about Nanako's missing friends. All of the responses were similar like, 'Saw them a few days ago but not since' or 'Haven't seen them recently'. Nothing that could lead us to any of the ones we're looking for."

"Well that's not a good start."

The three new friends turned to see Nanako and Maiko walking towards them in the heavy rain. Nanako sighed. "We didn't find anything either. I guess Big Bro was never near here after all."

"Come on Nanako, lighten up!" encouraged Yuuta "I'm sure that'll we'll find something if we look again. Maybe we just need another point of view."

Reiji spoke up "I agree. Maybe we'll try again later after the rain settles down. We can't search if we end up sick."

Nanako nodded. "Alright guys. We'll go to my house and rest. Maybe we can have some hot chocolate while we're there. And guys... thanks for helping me."

Maiko smiled at her. "No problem Nanako. We'll be right here, by your side, if you need help. I won't let you worry about your friends without support. Especially since I know how it feels to lose someone like a brother."

Nanako wiped away a tear that came from her eye. "T-thanks Maiko."

Yuuta's ears perked up. "Hmm... something happened to you too, Maiko-chan? Tell me, gimme the juicy bits of the story."

Miwa elbowed him in the stomach. "A few manners next time, okay?"

Yuuta grunted "Oof! O-okay..."

Reiji chuckled. "Heh, I'm starting to feel better already with these two around."

Everyone else laughed to lift some of the weight from their shoulders as Yuuta and Miwa had another mini drama show.

Nanako regained her composure and smiled. She turned around and started walking "Okay guys. Let's get back to my pl-"

"Nanako?" Yuuta asked as Miwa stopped lecturing him and saw Nanako staring off into the distance. "What's wrong?"

Nanako backed up as she saw what had stopped her mid-sentence. A man, wearing plain white trousers and a black shirt covered with a white jacket and had hair that was fairly long, tied in a ponytail and went down just below his shoulders, was approaching them. His face was mostly covered by a red butterfly mask. What disturbed Nanako the most about this man was that the rain didn't seem to touch him. The raindrops were vanishing as soon as they were about to touch his clothes and hair.

Miwa stammered "W-who is that?"

"Not sure" answered Reiji "But something tells me he's not a friendly." He went ahead of them and waited for the man to get closer.

The man kept walking towards them. The face left his mouth exposed and with that they saw him smirking. In a casual voice he said "Greetings young mortals. Please don't struggle; I have come to awaken you." Nanako felt frightened. His words were smooth and honeyed but she felt as if he was something far more sinister.

Reiji lifted his fists. "Definitely not a friendly." He took a step back so the left side of his body and his left arm was in a kick boxing position. "I don't know who you are, but I don't find it funny when people come up and say 'Don't struggle'." He rushed towards the man with his fists up and ready to attack.

Nanako felt a chill in her spine, her instinct telling her to hold back Reiji. She yelled "Reiji, NO!"

Reiji pulled out his right fist for a right jab attack in the masked man's face. He swung his fist at the man but the man didn't hesitate or stop. Instead, he held up his left hand and simply, ever so simply, pushed the fist as it moved towards him. He pushed and redirected it past his head.

"W-What?" Reiji stammered as he didn't the man moving his hand because of the hand's incredible speed.

Reiji was still moving towards the man and was about to crash into him, but the man just stopped walking and grabbed Reiji's right upper arm with his left hand and straightened his left hand into a flat palm. The next thing the man did was he ran his left hand into Reiji's stomach.

Or at least that's where it was supposed to stop at. Instead the hand went _through_ Reiji, like solid piercing through liquid.

Yuuta cried "Holy shit!"

There was no blood, there was no wound where the hand went through, the man's arm had simply went through Reiji. Reiji's expression went from surprised to shock as his eyes went to the back of his head. Then a second after his shock Reiji had fallen into unconsciousness, his eyes closed and the man's arm drawn back from his body. Where the man's hand left where it had pierced Reiji there was no mark, as if he had never attacked Reiji. "One awakened" he began "Four more to go."

Yuuta rushed towards the man after seeing what he did to Reiji. "You son of a bi-"

"Oh be quiet." The man swiftly lifted his right leg and gave Yuuta a kick to the stomach.

"Oof!" Yuuta fell to the ground with his back on it and his arms spread apart. He couldn't fell or move his limbs over the pain from that kick. 'Dammit!' he thought 'How strong is that guy?'

In fluid and swift motions the man leaped into the air with his left hand positioned the same way he had it positioned before he had taken out Reiji. Yuuta had a split second to realise what the man was about to do. 'Oh shi-'

The masked man landed feet first next to Yuuta and plunged his left hand into his stomach. Just like with Reiji the hand left no blood or wound when it left Yuuta's body while Yuuta cringed and fell unconscious. The man stood up straight, straightened his clothes and said "Next one."

Suddenly a flying kick was swiftly thrown at the back of the man's head. But the man apparently had a third eye at the back of his head as he ducked out of the kick's path.

He turned to see Maiko launch another kick at his chest. He jumped back, barely dodging the kick in time. "It seems you're not a novice when it comes to fighting."

Put her leg down to recover from her own kick and faced the masked man. "I learned these moves from someone close to me a long time ago, so I ain't going down that easily."

The masked man's smirk grew wider as he said "That someone wouldn't happen to be called Arisato?"

Maiko halted and froze at the mention of her dear old friend's name. "H-how do you kn-?"

The man rushed at her. A moment's hesitation was all he needed to break through her defence. He grabbed her arm and twisted it upwards. At the same time he used his other arm to flip Maiko's leg in the same direction he twisted her arm. The two twists upward flipped Maiko herself.

Maiko could only keep up with her eyes. "W-What?"

As she descended back to the ground the man pinned her to the ground on her chest area between her shoulders and once again shaped his hand into a flat shape and plunged it into Maiko's stomach.

Maiko didn't have time to scream, she just quickly jerked as the hand went through her torso and then went limp.

Nanako didn't want to see this, but her horrified eyes were etched onto her fallen friends and the attacker. She finally shook her fear off and shook Miwa by the shoulders as she too was horrified. "Miwa! We have to run!"

Miwa slowly responded "W-what about the others? W-we can't leave them."

Nanako shook her again, shouting "I don't think they're dead, but we don't stand a chance against this man! We have to run now before-"

Nanako stopped shouting as she saw Miwa suddenly jerk. She looked down to her friend's torso to see the man's left hand had pierced through it. Nanako jumped away, horrified, as she saw the hand nearly reached her as well. Nanako looked up to see the man lifting Miwa up with his left hand still in her. He gently eased Miwa off his hand and caught her as she fell off. He placed her gently on the ground, easing her head onto the concrete sidewalk and straightened his clothes again. "Last one" he said "Ready?"

Nanako stood there paralysed, her legs weren't obeying her. She hadn't felt this way since her kidnapper Namatame stole her from her own house all those years ago. "W-who... who are you?" she managed to sputter out.

The masked man clapped in appreciation. "Why, thank you for asking young one. I thought manners were a custom that the youths of this world ignored, considering the greetings your friends gave me."

Nanako builded up enough courage and strength to speak clearer "Well, you didn't exactly give us a warm welcome."

The man paused for a moment to ponder. Then he spoke "Touché, young one, or should I call you Miss Dojima? I honestly prefer to call people by their names instead of their age."

Nanako clenched her fist. Her voice sounded agitated "How do know my name? And what did you do to my friends?"

The man chuckled. "My spies have been watching all of you for the past two months Miss Dojima." He reached into his bleach white coat and took out a file. He read "Reiji Tenno, Maiko Shurei, Miwa Takahashi, Yuuta Minami and..." He pointed his finger at Nanako "...you, Nanako Dojima. All of you have a potential that you would only imagine in your wildest dreams. All I did was awaken the potential inside of them." He placed the file into his coat again. "Now, I'll do the same for you."

Nanako felt the chill she had felt earlier and commanded her legs to sprint away from the man, but once again her legs wouldn't obey. The man gave a smirk that Nanako thought for a split second looked... insane.

"Don't worry" He continued "It might hurt a bit, but once you awaken you will automatically pass the first round of preliminaries... of the _Crusade Tourney_. As many others have already. Your teacher should know something about it."

Nanako was confused. "W-what does Ken-san have to do with any of th-"

Nanako cut her sentence short as she felt something go through her stomach. She looked down at it and saw the masked attacker had gone up to her and pierced her with his left arm, like he did with her friends, within a split second. 'T-too... fast' she thought.

The masked man said "Oh, I forgot to answer your first question, how rude of me." She fell, both physically and mentally. As her body dropped off the man's arm and towards the ground and her consciousness was falling into darkness, the man continued and said "I am the future ruler of this galaxy..."

"...I am Zorn."

Then all Nanako saw next was black.

_Close by to the Moel Gas Station_

A man in a green and white outfit shut down the sliding door of his truck. "Everything delivered Akemi?"

A younger man in the same uniform came around from the other side of the truck. "Yes sir, Mrs Tatsumi has here new set of paints for her tiles and the reopened bicycle shop got their deluxe mountain bikes as they ordered."

The older man gave Akemi a pat on the back. "Not bad for your first day, I really appreciate the help you're giving me."

Akemi rubbed the back of his head. "Aw, shucks sir. There's no need to thank me. After all, I'm getting paid."

The older man climbed into the driver's seat. "Oh, so does that mean you don't want my thanks?" he asked with positive sarcasm.

"Uh... never mind" said Akemi as he climbed into the driver's seat. "But hey, for the last ten years you haven't had help right? Someone should've really helped you back then."

The older man put on a sad, guilty face as he started the truck and pushed the accelerator. "No, especially because of what I was doing ten years ago."

Akemi started to half-panic, he brought up a subject that shouldn't have been brought up. "Um... forget about that sir! Why don't we head back to the garage since the deliveries are done?"

The older man looked up and put on a half-smile. "Yeah sounds- What the!"

He put his foot on the on brake with sudden force and the truck came to a sudden halt. Akemi adjusted the hat he was wearing and asked "W-what is it sir?"

The elder of the two jumped out of the truck and ran to the unconscious girl that he spotted in the middle of the road. "T-this girl..."

Akemi jumped after him and took a look at all the unconscious teenagers on the road. "Woah, what happened to them? It's a good thing you stopped sir, or else we could've run over them-"

"Call the police!" The older one suddenly shouted.

"S-sir?" asked Akemi

"Call the police and tell them that detective Dojima's daughter and other kids were found unconscious and we're bringing them to her house!"

"Um... right away sir!" replied Akemi as he quickly reached for his phone and started dialling. "... Hello? We have five unconscious students here and I think one them is the daughter of..."

The older man carried the unconscious Nanako to the back of the truck, opened the back and gently placed her down in the truck. In a sorrowful tone he asked "Why? Why her again?"

"... Thank you. We'll see detective Dojima there." Akemi hung up and snapped the phone shut. "What's wrong with Namatame-san?"

_?, Meanwhile_

In the throne room surrounded by walls of stone and decorated by a red carpet leading to the steps in front of the throne, an up straight rectangle of black and dark energies emerged from nothing. The masked man named Zorn stepped out of the darkness and the dark portal disappeared. Two men and a woman were waiting for him. One had black spiked hair that looked like it had too much gel in it and was about a metre and a half tall. He wore tattered jeans and a tattered white shirt. He also had piercings on his ears and the most notable thing about him was that his eye pupils were yellow while what should be the whites of his eyes were pitch black.

The other man looked tidier. He wore a black full body suit with a belt with an emblem shaped like a skull around his waist. The belt held up a pitch black cloth that went around his waist and down to halfway down his knees. His hands were covered by metal gauntlets that had thick silver bracelets around the wrists. His upper arms were covered with chains that were neatly wrapped around his upper arms. He wore white leather shoes that went up halfway up his shins. The man himself was only a little taller than the other man. Though he was not bulky and muscular, it was clear that he had a fit body and frame.

He wore a metal helmet that covered every bit of his head down to his neck-shoulder area. The helmet was smooth and covered the man's skull as if he had no face and had an indented line going vertically down through the middle of the mask and an indented line horizontally intersecting the vertical indent across where his eyes would be. Though the helmet had no openings for the eyes to see through, the man seemed perfectly capable to see.

The woman wore a plain white version a church nun outfit. She was fairly well grown and fit as her nun outfit covered her slender curves of her body. The headdress hid a portion of her hair, as the hair visible was black and was cut at where her chin should be. Like the black, man of iron beside her, she also wore a mask but it was not made of metal. It was a plain crimson mask with no markings or mouth openings; it only had eye slits showing her eyes.

The man in the metal masked stepped forward. "Has it been done my lord?"His voice had an artificial deep tone as if his real voice was going through a voice filter.

Zorn walked over to the throne and elegantly settled in it. "Of course, whose ability do you think you're questioning here? And I hope you remembered what I ordered you to do?"

The metal masked man bowed his head. "Yes my lord. I am to lead two of our army and myself to the newly awakened and test whether they can summon their potential or not."

"And I see you've already chosen your companions already." Zorn commented "Well, I wish you the best of luck. After all, though you have incredible power, you are still new to my army. You have the potential to become one of my _Arcana Knights_, but I want you to be tested." He gestured to the spiked haired man. "Though I am impressed that you have decided to bring one of my veterans."

Spiked haired smiled at his master's compliment that he just received. But then he turned to the metal masked man with a glare giving off a dark aura of distaste.

Zorn smirked for only an instant as he saw the glare coming from his veteran fighter. The smirk went as fast as it came. "Well now, I authorise your dispatch. Asked one of the _Eligere Guards_ to send you to Earth and tell them to give you a Traesto Amulet so you can return."

"As you wish, Lord Zorn." The three servants said in unison. The three walked out of the vast throne room as closed the tall double doors behind them all by themselves.

Then suddenly the spiked haired man grabbed the masked one by his clothing on his arms and pinned him to the wall in fury. "Listen you maggot, I've been in Lord Zorn's service and armies for centuries, and no greenhorn who shows up a few days ago with 'high 'n mighty potential' is gonna order me around! Got that?"

The reply was a slap from the woman in the crimson mask. The spiked haired man stumbled back as he dropped the masked one. After the man dropped to the ground feet first and knee on the ground, the woman went to the metal and put her hand on his shoulder. The woman angrily turned to the spiked haired one. "This is no way to treat your peers and comrades!"

"Sabina, it's alright" soothed the masked man, his voice still artificial and deep. "What Slaze says is true, I am a greenhorn in this army. However, I'm just following orders. If Zorn orders me to lead this mission, then it shall be done."

"Tch!" contorted the other man who was apparently called Slaze. "Whatever, but if you get on my nerve, I'll kill you without any remorse. Just like all the other 'missing' troops that I've gone on missions with." He walked away "Meet you on Earth."

When Sabina and the masked one were finally alone, Sabina held the metal mask with a gentle, loving care. "He shouldn't have done that to you."

"He can do what he likes. I don't think a soldier like him will last long anyway."

"But he hurt his own fellow soldiers. He's even killed them out of a whim."

"That's why Zorn told me to take him on this mission, to redeem himself."

"But I thought you chose him to come along, not Zorn."

The masked man shook his head. "Before I brought us all together, Zorn told me to bring Slaze and gave me specific instructions. I cannot deny those orders or else..."

Sabina gently brought the masked one up to stand. "Don't try to think about it. Remember, someone might be listening. Just endure all this and it'll be over soon. We came into this army together and we'll stay together."

"...Thank you...Sabina." The man moved his shoulders to test them. "Alright. Time to head down there."

_Inaba, Dojima residence_

To say that Ryotaro Dojima was distressed, that would probably be an understatement as the furniture of his own house was being battered under his fists. "DID YOU DO THIS TO NANAKO? DID YOU?"

Taro Namatame was on the other side of the dining table, his head down in fear. "I-I swear, I only found them unconscious in the Southern shopping district."

'Wham!' Ryotaro slammed his fist into the table as he had many times before. "BULLSHIT!"

The officer behind Dojima put his hand on his shoulder. "Now, now, Dojima-san. I know what this man did all those years ago, but he was trying to protect your daughter in his own... unorthodox procedures. And your daughter and her friends clearly have no signs of weapons being used against them, all of them have fainted from mere shock. So please, try to be reasonable with this man."

Akemi, who was hiding in the corner from the wrath of the detective who owned the house, managed to step forward. "N-Namatame-san's telling the truth. I was there if him when we found them on the road."

Ryotaro closed his eyes in frustration as he clenched his fist. "...Alright. I'll believe your story for now." He pointed at the two deliverymen. "But you two will have to make an official report at the station. Is that clear?"

Akemi went from scared to slightly nervous. "'Gulp' ...perfectly."

Namatame stood up from his seat. "Of course I'll come to the station. What I did back then, I still have to make up for."

"You have no idea." growled Ryotaro. "Let's go, both of you are coming in my car."

_Several minutes later_

Reiji Tenno watched from the window as the policemen drive off with the deliverymen in the back seats. "...All clear."

Nanako Dojima and Miwa Takahashi stepped out of Nanako's room and came down the stairs. Nanako looked out the window to see her dad and the pale deliveryman off into the distance. "I guess dad was really mad at Namatame."

"No shit" replied Reiji "We pretty much woke up from your dad's yelling out 'bullshit' and such. That Namatame guy, was he really the one who put your life in danger ten years ago?"

Nanako nodded. "Yeah, but he didn't mean it. I mean, his lover was killed by my dad's former partner and Namatame was devastated. He wanted to protect people who would be targeted next. I think a girl named Saki Konishi was killed after that. He wanted to protect people no matter what, so he kidnapped possible targets to hide them from the killer. He believed I was one of them."

"As noble as the intentions were, I don't think kidnapping people is such great way to protect someone." said Miwa "Where did he hide you anyway?"

Nanako glanced at the television in the living room. "...You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Uh, hellooo? We were just attacked by creepy man who stuck his arm through us, and I don't think it was a magic trick. We saw it with our own eyes. I think after something like that, I'll believe anything at the moment."

"That's because you're so gullible."

Miwa jumped and turned to see Yuuta and Maiko come down the stairs. "S-shut up, Yuuta! Don't you find it shocking that we went through something like that?"

Yuuta scrubbed his hair. "Well yeah, but there's no use complaining when we can't get a proper answer from it."

Miwa stomped her foot. "You seem awfully calm about this!"

"Calm down Miwa-chan" soothed Maiko. "Let's just get our heads clear so we can figure this out."

Reiji nodded. "I agree. We shouldn't be panicking."

Nanako out her hand on Miwa's shoulder and said "Miwa, I know it's hard to stay calm after that, but I want to find answers to what that man did and what Ken-san has to do with this. And...Big Bro might have something to do with this as well. I just have a feeling that he's..."

Miwa's shoulders sagged as the rage on her face left her. "...I'm sorry. I guess I just need a rest. After all that my head still hurts."

Maiko rubbed the back of head. "Mine too. Whatever that guy did to us, I hope it's not something horrific."

"That man..." Nanako began "...he said he was 'awakening' us to something beyond our imagination. Could he have-"

Reiji looked out the window to watch the rain patter down as he saw two police officers approaching door. They stopped at the door and turned to road as if they were keeping watch. "Uh-oh, looks like sentries were put outside."

Nanako walked over to the window to look. "Oh, dad must've put them there. Probably because he wanted someone to watch us while he's gone."

"Huh" said Yuuta as he squinted out the window "I wouldn't trust these guys to guard us though, they forgot their raincoats. Man, they gonna be really sick tomorr-" Yuuta stopped as he saw something. "H-hey, who's that?"

_Outside the Dojima residence_

One of the officers gave out a sigh as his hat got soaked. "Damn, wish I brought an umbrella."

The female officer on the other side shrugged. "So do I... but Dojima-san was really crabby over the communication radio, so we had come here quickly before he exploded."

"I know, I know. Still, can't the guy give us a break?"

"This is his daughter we're talking about. If we stuff up, we'll probably be relieved of our badges as a penalty."

The male officer gave another sigh. "'_Sigh'_ I guess you're right. But I-"

The female officer suddenly flinched. "Shush! I heard something." She pulled out her gun and pointed it in the direction she thought the noise came from. "Who's there?"

Two men came into view. The black spiked hair one in casual ripped clothes looked at them with his yellow pupils and his black eyes. "You sure this the right place maggot?"

The other man in black uniform, chains around his arms and a metal helmet stepped forward. "I have no doubt that this is the right place."

Slaze grinned insanely as he pulled out a knife from his jeans pocket. "Then these two aren't the ones we're looking for, can I take them out?"

"Don't kill them."

The male officer pulled out his gun "S-stay back or we'll shoot!"

"Don't care." was all that Slaze could say to that. He charged at the two officers with a sprint.

"Fire!" shouted the female officer.

'_BANG! BANG!'_

_Northern Shopping district_

Akihiko pressed the microphone of the two-way radio in his car as he drove with Ken in the passenger seat. "This is officer Sanada, special investigator from Iwatodai. Officer Dojima, please respond."

The radio gave out a static noise with the heavy rain pouring outside before receiving a transmission. "What the hell do want Sanada?"

Akihiko jumped slightly as he heard the angry detective. "Um... I'm heading over to the station now with Ken Amada, so if you can show us the file of your nephew-"

"I don't have time to show you the file!" responded Ryotaro over the radio "My daughter and her classmates were just attacked and I'm busy with a few witnesses right now! If you want the file, wait for me at my house. Nanako's there and the officers guarding her are rookies, so help them out!" The radio gave a click as Ryotaro hung up.

Akihiko put down the microphone. "Well... that was awkward."

Ken became panicked. "N-Nanako was attacked? M-maybe we should go to his house."

"Alright, we'll need to see the file anyway. Now if remember correctly, the house is this way." Akihiko turned the wheel to the right as he took the car out of the shopping district and into the residential areas. "That girl, Nanako, she's your student, right Ken? The one who was involved in the murder case ten years ago?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah, she's one of my students. And if she was with others, the others are probably the new transfer students and her two other friends. Why do you ask?"

Akihiko gave a smirk. "Just now you were talking as if Nanako was the only one attacked. What made you forget the others Ken?"

Ken couldn't help looking away from Akihiko. "W-what do you mean? I just thought that-"

"Alright, alright, I won't push you to lie Ken." Akihiko gave out a chuckle and then changed the subject "You got your Evoker at your place?"

Ken looked back at Akihiko after brushing off the nervousness. "Actually..." Ken pulled his orange jacket to reveal a silver gun in the inside pocket "I have right here."

Akihiko gave another chuckle as he saw where Ken hid his Evoker. "What's your excuse for carrying a gun around? People are going to get nervous around you like that."

"Oh, I just say it's fake. I tell people I carry it around to scare thieves off as self-defence."

Akihiko remained silent for a moment and then exploded laughing. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"W-what's so funny?"

"Ha ha... that's the same excuse Mitsuru told Minato when first came to the dorm twelve years ago. She told me the story herself."

"R-really? I never thought about how Minato first came into dorm."

Akihiko settle down as he remembered he was the one driving. "Well Minato had plenty of close calls back in those days. And I don't mean the battles in Tartarus."

"Like what?"

"There was a time in Kyoto when we went on that school trip and-" Akihiko hesitated to say what happened in the open air bath as he remembered to take that secret to the grave. "Erm... never mind. How about we-"

Akihiko stopped as a woman stepped out from the corner of the block. "Holy shit!" He applied the brakes the moment the woman stepped in front of the car.

The car came to a halt and the woman just stood there in her white nun outfit. Akihiko and Ken got out of the car to confront her. Akihiko wasn't happy. "Hey! That dangerous! Don't go stepping in front of moving cars like that!"

The woman said nothing. She held a small cube in her hand and pressed her finger against it. The cube shone in white light and it began to morph.

Ken stepped back from her. "What is she doing?"

The shining object changed shape from a small cube into a longer object. It extended into the shape of a two metre long pole and at one of the ends of the pole a three pronged shape extended from it. The light faded and the colour came back to the object that was once a cube and now a white trident with gold rings on the end.

The woman held the trident with one hand and with her fingers alone she twirled it like a helicopter propeller. She then stop twirling it and brought the trident down to her chin, held the blunt end with her other hand and point the triple blade at the two observing men with the spear pole still held near her chin. "I'm sorry, but I cannot let you pass and interfere with the preliminary tests. We will make the soon-to-be Persona Users awaken. You won't get past me."

"She knows about personas" Ken finally said after the flashy display. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his Evoker. "Then she's not normal." He brought the firing end of the Evoker to his forehead. "I just hope that Mitsuru's theory right."

"I think we can trust Mitsuru's theory" Akihiko said after bring his Evoker out of his holster. "After all, this is the brains of Mitsuru Kirijo we're talking about. I'm sure we can safely put the theory to the test."

The woman shook her head. "Don't think that if you use your own Personas that you can easily defeat me. I know what you've accomplished and I will admit it is impressive, but your Personas have been hibernating all this time. You'll need a few days of training to get your full powers back."

She shrugged and a blue aura of power surrounded her. "And don't underestimate me because I'm not using my Persona, I'm very strong."

"We can tell" said Akihiko as he pointed the Evoker to his head like he used to all those years ago. He pulled the trigger. "Caesar!"

And the sound of shattered glass echoed into the night.


	3. Chapter 3 Welcome to the Velvet room

This fanfic is something I'm really getting into, although the small number of reviews can be a bit discouraging. Oh well, a small number of reviews is better than none. I estimate a number of thirty to fifty chapters on this fanfic, so I better start cracking!

* * *

A flow of blood spilled onto the pavement in front of the Dojima Residence as a female police officer groggily opened her eyes. '_W-what happened?_' She lifted her head to observe her situation but her torso gave her a nasty sting. "OW!"

"Huh, so you're still conscious."

She looked up to see her spiked haired attacker holding his knife in one hand and her bleeding partner held high by the neck in the other. "L-Let go of him!"

"Relax, he's not dead. Though I really wish I could kill you two." As he finished his sentence and disappeared from sight with the male officer falling to the pavement.

"Where did he-!"

The female officer felt something lift her up by her right arm. She struggled to lift her head to see what it was as the knife wound in her gut, that she didn't remember getting, throbbed in pain. She eventually lifted her head to see the same man that attacked her and her partner.

Slaze licked his lips. "I especially want to kill you. A woman's screams in the face of death has more... finesse than a man's." Slaze put his finger into her wound, ignoring her jerking and hissing in pain, and slid it up to her neck leaving a streak of blood. "But since I was ordered not to kill you, I'll settle for your screams of pain."

He brought the knife in his other hand and shoved it into the officer's upper right arm. The officer winced and hissed again but she wouldn't scream, knowing that screaming would only satisfy her attacker. With heavy breath she said "G-Go to hell..."

Slaze didn't like that. "Why you little-!"

The male officer on the ground suddenly turned with his gun in hand and fired at Slaze's temple.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

The bullets went through Slaze's head, but he did not fall. Slaze shrugged off the force the bullet that impacted on him as the holes in his head quickly closed up and turned to look at the male officer. "So, you were feigning sleep? You're quite rude to do that in company."

'_Impossible_' thought the baffled officer '_I'm sure the bullet went through his brains. Why is he still standing? How could he survive that?_'

"Normal weapons can't hurt me" Slaze said as if he read the officer's mind "Only weapons used by ones with the potential can actually wound my kind."

He dropped the female officer and walked towards the male officer. "As payback..." he said with a wicked smile "...I'll carve out a totem out of your arm bones. Now which arm do you prefer? Your right arm or your left arm?"

A hand grabbed Slaze's shoulder before Slaze could bring down the knife. Slaze turned to see his iron masked superior. The masked one shook his head. "Don't Slaze. We didn't come here to torture bystanders. Let's just find the awakened and get this over with."

"Shut up!" replied Slaze "I told you, no greenhorn is gonna order me around! I'll do what I like and I'll take my time!"

"We don't have time for meddling Slaze. Right now Sabina is holding off very powerful Persona-users and if we don't hurry, the Persona-users will eventually gain their full powers back and Sabina can't handle the two of them at the same time."

"Don't care" replied Slaze "I'll do what I-!"

Slaze stopped in sudden fear as he felt his superior's aura around him. The masked one had exerted it in anger and, though the aura wasn't visible, it felt very heavy and dense as the both the police officers went unconscious. Slaze stumbled and immediately breathed heavily in the dreadful aura. "'_Huff!'_ F-fine! Okay! I'll stop wasting time! '_Huff!'_ Don't get so pissed!"

With that the masked one brought down his aura and Slaze stumbled away from him. '_W-what the hell? I knew Lord Zorn said he was powerful, but his aura's ridiculously huge! And he's not even breathing hard after exerting it! He's a damn monster!'_

"Are you ready now?" asked the masked one "We can't stay here long. We need to finish this quick."

Slaze took several deep breaths before answering. "A-alright. Let's get this over wi-"

Suddenly a figure jumped out of the bushes swinging a metal baseball bat at Slaze. "RAAAAAAAAAR!"

"What the-!" Slaze turned only to meet the metal bat impacting him in the face. _CLANG!_

_A few minutes earlier inside the Dojima Residence_

"Oh man," Yuuta said in a panicking tone "The police are getting their asses kicked."

"The man with the blonde hair isn't normal" said Reiji "They've shot him in the torso several times and yet he isn't being affected that badly.

"I don't think the metal guy is normal either!" exclaimed Yuuta "Who ties metal chains around his arms and wears gloves, boots and a helmet made of steel and walks as if it weighs nothing! The guy doesn't look that strong either!"

"W-what are we going to do?" asked a panicked Miwa "We can't possibly fight against these guys. But we can't leave the officers to die out there either!"

"Calm down Miwa" soothed Maiko who was putting on soccer shin pads. "We can't sit here and watch that's for sure. So we're going out there to take care of things."

Yuuta looked at Maiko. "Take care of things? What do you mean by 'take care of things'? And, um, where did you get those shin pads?"

"Those are mine," said Nanako "I let her borrow them."

Everyone turned to see Nanako walking down the stairs of the Dojima Residence holding several weapons with her. "From the looks of it, those two outside are after us and probably not for a friendly visit. That's why we're going out there." She laid the weapons on the dining table. "Here, take one and see what you can do with them."

Laid out on the table were several objects that you wouldn't consider a girl like Nanako would keep in the house. On one side was a metal baseball bat gleaming in the house light and a sheathed katana next to it. On the other side were a set of ninja claws.

"W-why do you have these?" asked Miwa in slight shock.

Nanako smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "Well Big Bro use to bring back stuff like this and kept it secret from my dad and I until he left ten years ago. The bat and the katana were some of those things. We agreed to keep them... after a long debate with my dad."

"Dude..." Yuuta started "Was Souji-san a yakuza?"

"Of course not!" snapped Nanako.

"Regardless of that..." said Reiji as he picked up the bat and gave it a few test swings. "I think the bat will suit me just fine. Though the chairs here would've been fine too."

"Hey!" Yuuta yelled as he ducked from one of Reiji's swings. "Watch where you're swinging that!"

Yuuta looked hard at the two remaining items on the table. "... well I guess I'll take the ninja sword. I've always want to swing one of these." He picked up the sword and took it out of its sheath. "Dude... this looks as sharp as hell."

"Of course it is Yuuta" said Maiko "It's a sword, not a tooth pick. Thanks for the shin pads Nanako."

Nanako shrugged. "No problem. You said you practiced some kind of martial art right? I guessed that my soccer pads would've given you protection and more lethalness in your kicks." Nanako turned to Miwa. "Aren't you going to pick something Miwa?"

Miwa stared at the ninja tiger claws and grimaced. "Um... no thanks" she finally said "I don't like handling anything with blades. There's only one weapon I'd actually like to use."

"What is it?" asked Reiji.

Miwa put her fists out and tugged an imaginary rope between them. "A whip."

Everyone stared at Miwa in confusion.

'_A whip?_' wondered Yuuta '_Well that just confirms the fact she's a slave driver_.'

Nanako chuckled at her friend's choice of weapon. '_I guess I can see Miwa using a whip. It suits her when she's lecturing Yuuta._' Nanako calmed down and armed herself with the claws. "I'll use the claws then" said Nanako "Teddie gave them to me anyway."

"Who's Teddie?" asked Maiko.

"A mascot for the Junes shopping complex." answered Miwa "But why would that perverted bear have something like that?"

"Um... I'll tell you guys later," said Nanako. 'If you guys remember to ask after this' she thought 'I really wouldn't be comfortable talking about it.'

Nanako turned to her team and stuck her hand flat in front of her. "Alright guys. This will probably be a fight for our lives. If we don't win, we'll never return back to our normal lives. Let's get through this. Everyone put your hands on mine."

The other put four settle one of their hands on Nanako.

"Why are we doing this?" asked Reiji.

Yuuta answered, "It's something Nanako tells everyone to do before soccer games for confidence." Yuuta scratched his head with his free hand. "But it got awkward on the first try and we ended up looking like idiots on the field."

"Shut up Yuuta and let Nanako make the victory vow." snapped Miwa.

"Thanks Miwa," Nanako cleared her throat and spoke in a proud voice, "We are about to enter a battle against the unknown! But we will not falter! We will not shatter! Our souls and drives will not be crushed! Through our iron will and dreams, we will be reunited after this battle, and we will be reunited alive! Through blood, sweat and hardships, we will accomplish this! Are you with me?"

Everyone nodded and broke the pile of hands. "YEAH!" they all cried out in unison.

Yuuta put his arms in the air and hooted "Woo! Another inspirational speech from Captain Nanako! Let's show the bad guys how to kick ass!"

Miwa sighed. "Someone's been watching too many Feartherman R movies again."

"S-shut up!"

Nanako walked over to Reiji. "Alright Reiji, since you're more of an upfront assault person than the rest of us, you're going to have the first strike."

"How so?" asked Reiji.

Nanako pointed to the glass sliding doors at the back of the house, "Go out the back door, hide in the bushes and make your way to the front. When you get the chance, knock out one of the guys outside and we'll follow through the front."

Reiji smiled as he liked the idea. "Got it."

_The present_

"Oof!" Slaze hit the ground hard as Reiji managed to whack him in the face. Slaze shook his head and wiped the blood coming out of his mouth. "I'm bleeding..." He looked at Reiji with his black eyes that had a new fire of bloodlust in them. "You actually made me bleed. You must be one of the ones we're looking for."

"Yeah?" Reiji asked bluntly as he swung again. "So what if I am?"

Slaze side stepped the swing this time and jumped into the air so high he nearly reached the top of the nearby electrical posts. "That means," he said "That I can go all out!"

He kicked one of the electrical posts at their wooden tops and Slaze went diving towards Reiji with his knife at hand. Reiji tried to jump back but was too late as Slaze had already landed at his feet. Slaze swung his knife at Reiji's chest. "Gotcha!"

Reiji closed his eyes and waited for the blood to spray across his chest. 'This is gonna hurt-"

"AIEE!"

Reiji opened his eyes to see Slaze far to his right on the ground bracing a footprint mark on his face. "What the-"

"Need a hand?"

Reiji looked at Yuuta, who had apparently kicked Slaze in the face before he slashed Reiji's chest, stand over him. Yuuta held his hand out to help Reiji up.

"Good shot," thanked Reiji as he pulled Yuuta's hand. He got up and brushed off the mud on his pants. "He's not so tough. I didn't think we could hurt him considering that he was shot several times. Why didn't you slice him with the katana instead of kicking him?"

"Because I'm not used to carrying a sword," replied Yuuta as he placed the back of the katana on his shoulder. "I could've sliced you with him."

"Fair enough."

The Miwa ran out of the opened front door with bandages in hand and headed towards the wounded officers. "Come on, come on..." she whispered in frustration as she checked their pulses. She looked up at Nanako who was rushing out with Maiko out the front door and said "They're not dead! Just unconscious! But they're losing blood fast!"

"Patch them up!" ordered Nanako as she readied the claws latched to her fists. "We'll take care of these two!"

"Damn." cursed Slaze. He looked over to his superior. "Aren't you going to help?"

The masked one simply stood back with his arms crossed. "You wanted to take them all on, right?" he asked with his deep, artificial voice. "This is your chance. Zorn might even promote you if you beat them."

"If you put it that way..." Slaze got up and spat out the blood from his mouth and put on his insane smile. "Then I guess I won't need your help."

"You're fighting alone?" asked Nanako as she watched the masked man step back as Slaze stepped forward "There's five of us and one of you. I don't think I would like those odds if I was the 'one'."

"Heh, you kids don't know who you're messing with. That 'five versus one' advantage crap only works with mortals, but I'm something else. I'll kill you before you can say 'son-of-a-!"

Slaze couldn't finish his sentence as Maiko had snuck up on him from his side and gave him a shin assault to the head. Slaze collapsed to the ground as Maiko pushed in her knuckles. "Has anybody told you that you talk too much?"

Slaze put his hand to his head in pain once again. "WHY. IS. EVERYONE. AIMING. FOR. MY. HEAD!"

"Cause it looks like goldfish's face, with the mouth going 'glup... glup'" snickered Yuuta as he poorly mimicked a goldfish. "You really should stop talking or else people will think that you're all talk and no substance."

Slaze clenched his fists and his eyes closed. "I will not..." He brought one of his fists up to his face and opened it "... be mocked..."

A red tarot card appeared and hovered above his palm. Nanako felt a chill crawl down her spine as she had felt this before, when Souji saved her in the TV world. She knew what was going to happen next as she screamed, "Guys, RUN!"

Slaze's eyes opened in fury. "BY YOU MAGGOTS!"

Slaze crushed the red card with ferocity and a crimson atmosphere surrounded him. The wind picked up and battered the five teenagers as they watched the events unfold with their arms shielding their faces.

With her hands covering her eyes Miwa asked "What is he doing?"

"It's a Persona!" yelled Nanako.

"A what!" yelled Yuuta.

The red glass shards that made up the red card swirled in a twister like pattern and came together to form a creature. The shards fused within a second forming a blue steel knight with a trident riding on a beige coloured horse. The horse got on its two hind legs and lifted its front legs as the knight itself lifted its trident in pride.

"W-what the hell is that!" roared Reiji.

"Ha aha ha ha ha ha !" Slaze madly mocked, "This is Berith! This is my Persona!"

_At the same time nearby..._

_THOOM!_

Lightning bolts struck wherever the masked white nun went as she continued to elude the lightning bolts. Spinning her trident in one hand, Sabina jumped towards the pugilist officer. "This ends now!"

"Not yet!" yelled Ken as he readied his Evoker, "Kala-Nemi! Hamaon!"

As Ken pulled the trigger the sound of shattering glass filled the air and the colossal orange robotic Persona appeared. With a rotation of its body and turning of its arms a circle of bright light appeared under Sabina's feet.

Seeing the light attack at the last second she threw away the thought of attacking Akihiko and quickly jumped to the left just before the illumination of the attack blasted her.

Expecting his attack not to hit in the first place, Ken stepped back as Kala-Nemi faded. "All yours Akihiko!"

"Thanks!" replied Akihiko as he readied his evoker. "Thunder Reign!"

With another pull of the trigger the glorious Caesar appeared and raised the globe in its hand to the air. A crackling noise took place and Sabina glanced upwards to see an orb of electricity building up. Knowing she couldn't dodge, she aimed her trident upward as the lighting came down.

The Thunder Reign came down to attack, but only to meet the trident's metal prongs and absorbed by them. The wielder quickly swung the trident down as the attack ended and stuck the prongs into the earth, causing the overcapacity of electricity to run through the earth as she was left unharmed.

"Dammit!" cursed Ken as he ran to Akihiko's side panting "'_Huff' _We can't seem to hit her! And I don't think she's breaking a sweat! Are our Personas really that out of shape?"

Akihiko wiped the sweat off his brow and returned to his boxing stance. "Don't worry Ken. We're getting our power back. If we keep this up, we'll eventually be as powerful as we were when we fought Nyx and Erebus, even if she has some resistance to our lightning attacks. And if she won't bring out her own Persona, that'll make things easier."

Sabina lifted the trident and pointed at the two Persona-Users. "I told you not to underestimate me just because I won't summon my Persona. I can-!"

Before she could finish as a sudden surge of power was felt by the three. The power felt as if it was from a distance.

Ken's eyes widened, "This feeling...! A Persona?"

Akihiko's stance broke. "But it feels too dark! It's like a Shadow _and_ a Persona at the same time! What's going on over there?"

Sabina glanced behind and at the direction where the feeling was coming from. "So Slaze has summoned. That means the test has begun." She looked back at the two and resumed her battle stance, "More of a reason why I can't let you pass."

Ken clenched his fists. _'Nanako... everyone...'_

_Dojima Residence_

The horse neighed loudly in the rain as it came down with its hooves denting the pavement before it disappeared. Slaze opened his palm again and the red card appeared once more.

"Skewer them Berith! Single shot!" He crushed the red card as he did before and the knight appeared once again, aiming his trident at Reiji.

"Oh shit!" Reiji held his bat with each hand at one end of the bat and blocked the trident between two of its prongs. Reiji tried to stand his ground but the Persona had too much strength and pushed Reiji back so hard Reiji was flung into the wall with the trident grazing him. "Arrgh!"

Maiko ran over to him. "Reiji! Are you alright?"

"F-fine," he answered. But that was a transparent lie as he clutched his left side of his torso as it bled. "Th-that thing's really strong. I don't we can win in a melee against it."

"Take him out!" Nanako shouted as she pointed directly at Slaze. "If we take out the summoner, he can't call out his Persona!"

Yuuta clenched his katana at the handle with both hands. "I'm not sure about this 'Persona' crap," aimed the katana blade end at Slaze "But it's worth a shot!"

Yuuta charged at Slaze in a full sprint while he edged his katana at Slaze's stomach.

But Slaze wasn't as easy to surprise anymore as he jumped in mid-air and swung his feet at Yuuta. Yuuta couldn't read the kick and got a straight hit to the side of his head. "Nggh!"

He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Slaze landed perfectly unscratched and glared at the rest of the teenagers. "You really think you can get the jump on me like last time? When I summon Berith, I am at my full potential! You maggots are dead now!"

Slaze lazily turned his head to an unconscious Yuuta. "But perhaps I'll kill him first. Berith! Agi!"

Slashing the red card the knight once again appeared and pointed its trident at Yuuta's limp body as the prongs of the trident charged up flame.

Nanako rushed towards Slaze with her claws ready to cut the bastard who was going to kill her friend. "STOP IT!"

"Burn..." Slaze muttered and as commanded, Berith released the flames and a fire ball startled hurdling towards Yuuta.

"No!" cried Miwa as she sprinted to intervene in the fire ball's path to shield her friend.

"Miwa, don't!" shouted Maiko. But alas, her warning came too late.

"Ahhhh!" Miwa screamed as the flames hit her sides. She collapsed to the ground trying to put out the flame on her jacket. But good fortune smiled on her as the rain dowsed out the fire. Hurt and scared, Miwa passed out.

Slaze pouted as he saw the flames go out. "Aw, I forgot that my Agi isn't as effective in the rain." He sidestepped Nanako's claw attacks as lazily as he could. "Oh well, I'll kill those two eventually. Right now, you three will be the lucky winners of my favourite game, 'Wheel of Death'!"

Maiko couldn't take much more of Slaze. She bit her lip at the sight of her new friends getting taken down by creeps twice in one day. She charged and joined Nanako in attacking Slaze as he simply manoeuvred around their attacks. "You bastard! Leave us alone! We've had enough of you weirdos!"

"Don't care," Slaze mumbled as he continued to dodge their attacks "Tell someone who does." With that he jumped away from the path of Maiko's drop kick and jumped back from the two girls. "I think it's time to end this." Slaze looked back at the iron masked man who still hadn't moved, "Don't you agree?"

The iron man remained silent but he clenched one of his fists that were clamped on his elbows as his arms were still crossed.

Slaze smirked. "So even you're getting impatient, huh? I suppose I should clean this up now." He suddenly lifted his hand and the red card appeared. "Goodbye maggots."

Nanako's eyes widened, "Maiko! Get back!" she ordered as she jumped back from Slaze. Maiko nodded as she followed.

"Brain Shake!" exclaimed Slaze as he brought his knife down on the card. Berith materialised and pointed its trident and the horsed charged as if it was in a jousting tournament.

The trident was aimed at Maiko.

Maiko jumped back several times to get away from the knight but it was too fast, she couldn't elude it. She stared at the trident as it drew closer and closer to piercing her chest_. 'I can't dodge it! I can't-!'_

_CLANG!_

Maiko only realised a split second later that the trident never reached her. She stared flabbergasted as Reiji had gotten up and blocked the trident like last time. "Guh!"

Reiji flew past Maiko as he was once again pushed back by the sheer force of the attacked. This time Reiji hit the walls of the house and made a deep dent in it. He dropped to the ground and laid still.

"Reiji!" Nanako yelled as she the events unfold.

"That maggot again?" queried Slaze "Didn't he learn from that last attack I gave him? Oh whatever." Slaze gave a yawn and disappeared.

Maiko gasped as he did. "Where did he-!"

Maiko suddenly felt winded in the stomach. She looked down to see Slaze's fist had impacted her gut. _'Blast...'_she thought as she settled into unconsciousness.

Nanako had only seen what happened a split second later. "Maiko!" she screamed as she watched Maiko fall. She glared at her attacker in rage, "You bastard!"

"Please, such a nickname will never suit me." Slaze responded, "How about the 'Necro Artisan'?" He held out his hand one last time and crushed the red card. "You did pretty good to survive this long. Maybe I should cut off your head and see if your body still moves. You know, like a cockroach."

The knight came down upon her and loomed over her as she tried to guard with her fists in front of her. Slaze cackled with mad laughter, "Bwa ha ha ha ha! That's rich! You're still resisting even though you know you're going to die! Ha ha ha!"

Slaze wiped away the tears that were caused by his maniacal laugh. "Heh heh, normally an average Persona-User would have a fifty-fifty chance of not getting hit by this, but you haven't summoned yet, so the chances of you dodging are zero!"

Slaze then whispered only one word, "Mudo..."

Berith brought down his trident and slammed it into the ground. Nanako saw dark mist surround her and she desperately tried to break free, but the mist had her pinned to that very spot. As the mist condensed Slaze waved at Nanako, "Goodbye maggot."

Nanako didn't know what happened next, only that the darkness had pierced and she no longer could see light.

_?_

Nanako felt as if she was falling, slowly. She then felt herself slowly coming to a halt and now she felt as if she was floating. _'What a peaceful feeling,'_ she thought, _'If only I could feel this way forever'_

"_I_ certainly wouldn't wish that."

Nanako drowsily opened her eyelids and a space of blue came into her foggy vision.

"Forever and eternity are blessings and, at the same time, curses." the voice continued, "So be careful for what you wish for. Fate and time have a way of giving you what you want in its own twisted way. 'c_huckle'_ But fate has already given you the most intriguing destinies."

Nanako's vision snapped to attention as she realised she wasn't dead. She sat up and stared at her hands. _'W-why am I alive?'_

Nanako turned to see a long corridor laced with blue carpet and plane chairs in pairs at both sides. There were small windows beside the far right and far left chairs that showed dark coloured clouds passing by. The lights above the chairs were tinted a very light blue.

"A-an airplane?" asked Nanako, "Why am I in an airplane?"

"Perhaps you should ask that to your friends" answered the voice.

"Ugh..."

Nanako turned to see Miwa laying next her. She put her hands on her side and shook her, "Miwa! Miwa, are you alright?"

"N-Nanako?" Miwa mumbled as she came to consciousness. "W-what happened?"

"Beats me." said a familiar voice.

Nanako saw Yuuta trying to sit up on the other side. "The last thing I remember was that crazy guy kicking me in the face."

Reiji, who was just beside Miwa, got up and inspected his torso to see no wound. "Well you didn't miss much after that."

"Uh-huh." Everyone turned to see Maiko sprawled upside down all over a nearby chair. She quickly put herself right side up and straightened her clothes, "I can't believe we were beaten up twice in one day. Is this a plane to the afterlife?"

"Not in the slightest."

Everyone turned to the head of the plane where two chairs and a glass table was. Sitting in the two chairs were two very different people. A beautiful woman with amber eyes dressed in a blue tunic was in the chair on the right of the table. A man of almost grotesque appearance was on the chair on the other side of the table facing the five. His beady eyes stared contently at them as his white gloved fingers were over one another. But the most notable aspect was his long nose. "Welcome to the Velvet room."

The man smiled a devious grin, "Do not be alarmed, in here, time will not pass outside."

"Um, excuse me?" Yuuta asked "Can you explain how we got here? And who the hell are you guys?"

The man chuckled, "Ah, forgive my lack of manners. I am the seer of the Velvet room. My name is Igor... I am delighted to make your acquaintance." He gestured to the woman on his left, "And this is my assistant Margaret."

The woman named Margaret nodded her head in greeting, "Good evening."

Yuuta blushed immediately at the greeting of the amber-eyed beauty, "Oh! Um... good evening to you too miss."

Miwa gave a dark glare at Yuuta and raised her fist at his side.

_WHAM!_

"Gah!" choked Yuuta, "W-what was that for Miwa?"

"Nothing..." she grumbled as she avoided looking him in the eye.

The man named Igor continued, "The Velvet room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Unfortunately for you young ones, this will be the first and last time you'll see it."

Reiji had his arms crossed and his fingers tapping his arms, showing his lack of patience, "No shit, cause' we're just about to die out there!"

"Reiji, calm down," Nanako soothed him, "If what this man says is true, then as long as we're in here time won't pass outside. So we're not going to die, not yet."

"Tch!" Reiji muttered.

"This room," Igor continued, "only welcomes those bound to a 'contract'. All five of you have made a contract, but it is getting weaker and weaker."

"I'm sorry," interrupted Maiko, "but I don't remember signing any contract."

Margaret pulled out a sheet of paper with a paragraph of detail in the middle and five dotted lines, with faded ink above each one, at the bottom of the page. "I believe this is the contract all of you signed."

She laid it on the table for everyone to see. The five teenagers saw their names were engraved with the faded ink on the dotted lines.

Yuuta backed a little in surprise, "What the...I don't remember signing this!"

"Guys," said Reiji, "Take a look at this."

He pointed to the paragraph above the names.

Nanako began reading "'We are about to enter a battle against the unknown'... _gasp!_ Guys! This is the victory vow we made before we left the house!"

"Indeed," said Igor, "This very vow is keeping you alive. But as I said before, it is growing weak." With a swipe of his hand a quill pen and an ink bottle appeared in a flash of light, "If you wish to renew this contract, please, rewrite your names again."

Nanako waved her hand at her friends towards the other end of the private jet which was seemingly the Velvet room. Noticing her signal, they all nodded.

Nanako nodded back and turned Igor and his assistant, "Excuse us... we need a moment to think."

Igor grinned, "Take your time."

The five made their way to the other end of the Velvet room and Yuuta was the first to speak, "What should we do?"

"I don't know..." replied Miwa, "Honestly, I'm edging towards not signing it. My mom's a lawyer and she's always exploited every contract with a flaw or a loophole. And I just find that man... creepy."

Reiji scratched his head, "Well, he doesn't look as murderous as the guy who was kicking our asses back there. And if that contract's keeping our heads over water, I say we go for it and sign the damn thing."

Maiko nodded, "I agree. We all made that promise to stay alive and to stay together to the end. I don't want to break that promise."

"Well..." muttered Yuuta, "I don't know what to do at this point. I mean, sure this contract's keeping us alive, but what if this is like selling our souls to the devil? This is like choosing between a rock and a hard sofa."

"Hard _place_, Yuuta," Miwa corrected.

"Sorry. Anyways, what do you want to do Nanako?"

Nanako looked down, "..."

She suddenly remembered the photo of her Big Bro and her friends in her wallet and took it out. She stared at it and remembered all the good times she had with one of the most important people in the world to her. Souji's first arrival in Inaba, the outing to Junes and meeting Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko, the time when she saw Yosuke poking around Souji's room before she went out with Miwa. There was the time she saw Chie freak out because of a grasshopper on her back. The time when she saw Yukiko give her homemade meal... or catastrophe... to Souji. Kanji's hand sewn dolls, meeting Rise and Naoto's investigations with Souji. And even the time she saw Teddie in her hospital room. Nanako smiled as she felt the warmth of those moments and shed a single tear that came out during her reminiscing.

"Nanako?" Miwa asked in concern as she saw the tear.

"I'm okay Miwa," Nanako replied. She breathed in deeply before putting the photo away, "I... I want to see Big Bro again. And not just him, I want to see Big Sis Yukiko, Yosuke-kun, Chie-chan, Naoto-chan, Kanji-kun, Rise-chan and even Teddie. I want to keep looking for them and find them. I want to live long enough for that. So that's why..." She shook her head to one side and looked confidently at her friends, "...I'm going to sign that contract."

Yuuta stared at her, stunned, for a few seconds and then smiled as well, "There's my one and only captain and leader! If you're going in, so am I!"

Miwa grinned at her best friend, "Me too, or else I'll burn this choker around my neck, which isn't going to happen."

"Count me in," said Reiji with confidence brimming from the thumbs up he just put up.

Maiko beamed at Nanako's resolve, "Sign me up Nanako!"

"Thank you everyone," said Nanako, "I promise that I won't let you guys regret this."

With a nod and new resolve, the five walked back to the table at the front of the private jet.

Igor, waiting as patiently as the Buddha, greeted the five, "Have you decided?"

With a firm nod Nanako gave her response, "Yes, we're all going to renew this contract."

Igor gave a wide grin, "Excellent. Now sign here..." His palm gestured to the contract and the quill pen on the table.

Reiji was the first to pick up the quill pen. He quickly wrote down his name over the faded name on the dotted line with no signs of hesitation.

Maiko stepped up next and mimicked Reiji's writing speed.

Miwa slowly wrote her name down as she was shaking a little bit. But she calmed down as Yuuta put his hand on her shoulder as she wrote.

Yuuta was next and he wrote almost hesitantly as he whispered, "I really hope this guy isn't the devil."

Nanako was last. She re-inked the quill pen and slowly wrote her name down.

_Reiji Tenno_

_Maiko Shurei_

_Miwa Takahashi_

_Yuuta Minami_

_Nanako Dojima_

With the last letter written down, Nanako let out her breath which she didn't realise she was holding. _'I have... no regrets about this.'_

"Very good," said Igor as he pulled back the contract and gave it a small blow, "Now please, take a seat. I have something to give to each of you."

The five silently took a seat on the private jet's chairs as Igor handed the contract to Margaret. "Margaret," Igor notified his assistant, "The cards, please."

The amber-eyed woman nodded and took out a thick grimoire. She carefully opened it and five cards were embedded into the first page. Carefully taking the cards out of the book and onto the table, Margaret closed the oversized book.

"These," Igor began as his palm gestured to the five cards, "have been awaiting all of you for a long time. Normally, when one is invited to the Velvet room, they are granted the power of the Wild Card, a power to wield an infinite number of these cards. Unfortunately, you five will not be granted that power."

"Then why were we invited in the first place?" Yuuta asked as if he was cheated out of a treat he was expecting to get

Miwa, who was next to him, gave him an elbow to the gut. "Manners..." she whispered.

"Because your world," Igor replied, but this time in a much more serious tone, "and others, require all of your power. Do not be disappointed just because you cannot wield the power of the Wild Card. Your abilities, if grown with care and responsibility, will be potent enough to be equal with the Wild Card."

The five cards glowed in blue light and started to hover above the table.

"As I said before, these have been waiting for all of you for a long time. The will be your guides, your mentors and the mirrors and reflections of yourselves. Choose your paths wisely."

The hovering blue cards quickly flew towards to each of the five, each card halting in front of one of them. Nanako want to slap it away, but the glow of the card in front of her told her something else. Instead, she embraced the card in her right hand. The others, seeing Nanako holding her card, followed.

Igor smiled for a moment but then seriousness came over his face once more. "Now that we have delivered these to you, it is time for you to leave. This will be the last time you will see this room, but not the last time you'll see us. Until then, farewell..."

White light began to cover Nanako's vision. "W-wait!" she cried, "I still have more questions! Please tell me-!" But before she could finish the light had consumed her.

_Dojima Residence_

As the dark mist receded back into nothing and Berith vanished, Slaze gave out an insane grin. "Bwa ha ha ha ha! How's that? This is what you get for hitting me in the face!" He turned to the man in the iron mask, "Ain't that right?"

"..."

"Oi! Say something!"

The iron masked man merely shrugged and pointed past Slaze, "It's not over yet."

Slaze turned towards what his superior was pointing to, only to see Nanako trying to get back on her feet.

"The hell...?" Slaze cursed under his breath, "You should be dead! My Mudo attack should be able to render awakened warriors unconscious! Those who haven't awakened die from it! Why are you still standing? You couldn't have awakened so soon!"

Nanako didn't respond. With her breath ragged, she stood firm on her feet and glared at Slaze.

Slaze glared back in disgust, "Tch! If you want to keep looking down on me..." Slaze readied his red card, "THEN I"LL ANNIHILATE YOU! BERITH!"

Berith came and readied its trident for the final blow. "Finish her off! Single shot!" The knight charged towards Nanako at full speed with no signs of stopping.

Maiko regained consciousness and shook her head, _'Ugh, was that room, or jet, real?'_

She raised her head and eyelids to see Berith charging at an unevading Nanako, "Nanako!"

Nanako ignored the warning as Berith came closer and closer. She lifted her closed right hand and opened her palm to see the same card she was given in the Velvet room. The card was then suddenly consumed by blue flame and a blue aura surrounded Nanako. The aura's sudden appearance sent a shockwave, only affecting Berith. As the wave hit Berith faltered in its attack and vanished.

"What the-!" exclaimed Slaze, "Dammit! She's awakened!"

Nanako merely lifted the card to her face while retaining her expressionless mask. Then after staring at the card for long enough, she smiled, content with her power.

Then she whispered, emphasising every syllable.

"Per... so... na!"

She crushed the card in her hand so naturally, as if she had done it all of her life and yet she knew this was her first time. Power surged through her and she wasn't the only one who noticed her sudden rise in power. Slaze stared at her, wide eyed, as he silently cursed his luck. Maiko only gaped at Nanako, watching her summon the same kind of power as their attacker did.

The shards of the blue card came together, creating a larger entity. It formed a feminine figure, tall with a glorious golden glow and blonde silky hair blowing in the wind over her beautiful, pale face. The figure was shown to be wearing a pure white roman robe and golden sandals. But the most capturing sight of the figure was on her back. Behind her were two, bleach white feathered wings that were about longer than twice the female's arm span. Lifting her hands in the air, a set of golden balance scales and a silver rapier appeared. Grasping the scales in her left hand and the rapier in her right, the angel dropped her arms and looked down at her summoner.

"_I am thou, and thou art I... from the sea thy soul I come... I am Ariel... one of the holy messengers of the Lord, Jehovah."_

The angel then let out a soothing and gentle cry as it disappeared back to where she came, Nanako.

Nanako closed her eyes as Ariel vanished. Then she opened them, glaring at Slaze, "Let's finish this..."

"Ariel!"

* * *

Well that's the third one down. The reason the Velvet room's a private jet this time is that the previous versions of the Velvet room depended on the guest. Minato had an elevator that went up, regarding to the tower of Tarturus. And in Persona 4, it was a limo that drove through the fog, indicating the journey of searching for the truth hidden in the fog. The jet represents a journey with close companions through the clouds which are unknown to them. Will they find a silver lining or a thunderous nimbus cloud? Keep reading and reviewing to find out.

P.S I am 100% positive that I won't be using the Velvet room again, so don't ask.

Read and Review!


	4. Chapter 4 The enemy and the allies

"Ariel!"

Nanako smashed the tarot card of justice that appeared in front of her as Slaze shielded himself from the sonic boom of Ariel's brimming power.

"Shit!" he swore, "Of all times for someone to-!"

"Arm Chopper!"

Ariel lifted her sword in the air and brought it down at her other self's attacker. Slaze jumped back just before the sword managed to mark him, but he forgot that Arm Chopper was a double attack and only realised the fact as the blade was swung upwards from the ground. "Shit-!"

The blade was moving upwards towards Slaze's chest but Slaze crossed his arms just in time to have his arms cut but left his chest unharmed. Slaze jumped away and lifted his arms to see two narrow spaces, one on each arm, dripping and soaking his sleeves in blood, "Y-you bastard..."

Nanako huffed as she caught her breath, _'Alright, I think I can get used to this. Every attack or spell I command Ariel to use drains my energy, that much I understand. Can I defeat this guy before my energy wears out?' _Nanako shook her head to clear her mind then raised her hand and brought the blue card back, _'I guess I'm about to find out. If Big Bro could do this, so can I!' _"Ariel! Assault Dive!"

The angel appeared in blue light and soared, with her rapier in front, towards Slaze.

"Don't get cocky you maggot! Berith! Use Single Shot!"

As the knight materialized it swung its trident and rode towards Ariel in jousting style. The two Personas clashed with their weapons crossed and both of them continuously trying to push forward, in an attempt to gain an edge over the other.

"Come on Ariel!" Nanako yelled as she staggered back from the force of the clash.

"Kill her Berith! Rip out her heart!"

As the two forces continued to push each other, Maiko pushed herself upward while watching the two amazing powers. "I-is..." she thought out loud "Is there nothing I can do? How can I help Nanako when I don't even have anything near that calibre of power?"

"You're giving up that easily?"

Maiko turned to the source of the voice that had questioned her and saw Reiji trying to sit up with his right arm wrapped around his torso. "Reiji!" she cried as she ran towards him, "You shouldn't move! You're injured!"

Reiji opened his mouth to deny her claim but his body was too battered and instead he coughed, "_Koff! Koff! _I-I guess you're right. But... Nanako doesn't look much better to me."

"Huh? What do you mean? She doesn't look like she has a scratch..."

Reiji shook his head, "That may be true, but look carefully," He pointed at Nanako, "Her breathing, from the way she's dropping and raising her head and neck repeatedly she's probably giving herself a lot of fatigue whenever she uses... whatever she's using." He sat up straight with the aid of his left hand and winced, "I-if... we don't do something, she's gonna collapse pretty soon. But you're right Maiko, we can't do much if we can't do what Nanako's doing right now."

"Are you serious?" a new voice asked.

Maiko looked to her right to see Yuuta supporting a barely conscious Miwa with her arm over his shoulder. Yuuta had a look of anguish as he clenched his teeth, "Then what are we supposed to do? Sit here and spectate as that bastard kills one of my best friends? I don't want to see Nanako die! I don't want to see anyone to die today!"

"Yuuta..." Maiko softly whispered as he just yelled what she was thinking.

"I never said we were going to watch," replied Reiji, "I just said that we can't be of much help if we can't do what Nanako's doing. She called it 'Persona'. If we can't do that, we can't fight against this guy."

Miwa shook herself awake as heard Reiji's comment, "That's pretty much the same thing Yuuta just said!"

Reiji looked at all of them with stern eyes, "And I never said we don't have that power! All I said was that if we don't have that power, then Nanako's screwed!"

Yuuta stomped his foot, "Shuddup! Stop saying Nanako's going to die! If you say anything like that one more time I'll-"

"Yuuta, stop!" Maiko shouted. Yuuta stared at her questioningly as she continued in a calmer tone, "Reiji, are you saying that we could have that... 'Persona' power as well?"

Reiji shrugged, "It's possible. I mean, you all saw that room as well, right?"

Yuuta only stared at Reiji in confusion for a moment and then opened his eyes in realisation, "Y-yeah! That 'Velvet Room' that looked like a private jet and had that creepy long-nose guy in it! You guys saw it too?"

"I thought it was all a dream..." said Miwa.

"Those cards that man gave us," Reiji continued, "They're similar to the ones Nanako and that freak are using now. If we have them..." Reiji stood up slowly, "...then we should use them!"

"Do you have any idea how to use them?" asked Yuuta, "Cause, as far as I can see, there isn't an instruction manual lying around here."

Reiji looked blankly at Yuuta, "Um... I didn't think that far."

Maiko stared at the ongoing clash between Personas and gritted her teeth, "I think I know..."

She went into a sprint towards the battle as Reiji used his free hand in an attempt to grab her, "Maiko, wait!"

Nanako staggered again and again as her Persona was exhausting the life out her. _'I-I can't... hold up much longer!' _she thought as her breathing got heavier and heavier.

"Hah!" spat Slaze, "I'll admit that you have power, but you won't last against me when it comes to stamina! You're finished!"

"Nanako!"

Nanako turned her head to see Maiko running towards her. "Maiko, stay back! You can't-!"

Maiko ignored her warning and lifted her hand up. '_Please!' _she desperately thought, '_Please let this work!'_

Slaze didn't like the interruption in his battle. "Get lost!" he pointed at Maiko, "Berith! Kill her first!"

Berith decided to end the duel with Ariel by parrying both of their attacks to the side. As the two Personas stumbled as the duel ended in a standstill, Berith turned his attention to Maiko and charged.

Nanako fell to her knees as Ariel disappeared and saw the knight's trident edging closer to Maiko. "NO!"

Maiko stopped running and concentrated on her open palm as she saw Berith charging towards her. _'Come on! Please!'_

Hearing her cries, a blue card appeared in her open palm. Seeing the blue light from it, Maiko crushed it and screamed "PERSONA!"

The same blue aura that surrounded Nanako did the same for Maiko as the shards of her card shielded her from Berith's trident.

Berith gave out a cry of rage as it faded. Slaze was no different. "Dammit!" he swore, "Not another one!"

The blue shards of glass came together above Maiko, forming another entity of power. Nanako watched the event unfold and simply smiled.

The figure forming above Maiko was feminine, with straight brown hair that was cut at the neck and blue gem eyes that shone with her perfect face. She wore a chest plate that wrapped around her and wore a white short skirt with a belt of gold. Her legs were covered by high-heel boots made of chainmail with gold covering the heel points, top rims and the tips of the boots. With her arms laced in silk sleeves a bow was held between her arms. On her back was a leather quiver, holding arrows with crimson bowheads.

"_I am thou, and thou art I... from the sea thy soul I come... I am Otrera... a proud warrior goddess. I stand by you."_

With a sigh and deep breath, Maiko said "Thank god, it worked." With a shake of her head and a new fire in her eyes, Maiko pointed to Slaze. "Shoot him down Otrera! Agi!"

As her other self commanded, Otrera swiftly swiped an arrow out of quiver and armed her bow and fired as fast as she loaded her bow and Otrera herself disappeared. As the arrow sailed through the air, it no longer was an arrow as it flared into a fire ball.

"Shit!" Slaze swore, "One of them awakening was enough trouble! But unluckily for you..!" Slaze simply smirked and stood there and let the fire ball hit him. But he didn't cry out in pain or even burn, the flame simply hit him and dispersed, "Fire spells doesn't work on me!

Maiko glared at him. "If that's the case..." she brought back the card, "Then try this! Torrent Shot!"

Crushing the card again, Otrera was already armed with her bow and with one eye open she shot her arrow. The arrow split into three arrows, all were aimed and racing towards Slaze at different distances from each other.

"D-defend me, Berith!" Slaze shouted as he crushed his card. Berith stomped down and used its trident in a spinning motion to block the arrows. Unfortunately for Slaze, it wasn't fast enough.

The arrows sped through Berith's spinning trident and stabbed Slaze in both arms and one of his legs.

"ARRRGGHH!"

Slaze was thrown back from the force of the attack, landing in the neighbour's rose bushes. The arrows themselves dispersed into blue shards quickly after that.

"Ouch..." said Yuuta as he winced, "Monster or not, that had to hurt."

"I-I don't believe it." Reiji muttered, "Maiko did it! She can do what Nanako can do! We can actually get out of this alive!"

Yuuta looked at Miwa with a devious smile. "So, ready to try it?"

Miwa responded with a firm nod. "Yeah, let's go for it!"

"GGRAAAAAHHH!"

Slaze leaped out of the rose bush onto a nearby roof and screamed, "You son-of-a-bitch!" He clutched his arms in pain, "Y-you'll pay that!"

'_T-this... is amazing!'_ Maiko thought as she panted heavily due to fatigue, _'It's like having a one mind control two bodies! Attacks, spells, techniques, anything that my Persona can do, just flows into my head! I know I've never done this before, but the information about my power's abilities is in my mind like they've always been there. Is that how Nanako made it look like she was so natural at using this?'_

"Maiko!"

Nanako ran to Maiko's side sluggishly, "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine Nanako; I'm more worried about you. That attack must've spent most of your energy. I've only used two attacks and I'm already gasping for breath."

Nanako turned to look at a cringing Slaze on the rooftops, "Yeah, that's our biggest problem. One of us alone can take that creep on, but we'll run out of energy before we can beat him. If only we had more stamina-"

"THAT'S IT!" roared Slaze, "You've pissed me off far enough!" He readied his hand as his red card came down.

Nanako's eyes widened, "No! I don't have enough power to make another summoning yet!"

Maiko was just as panicked, "Neither do I!"

"DIE!" Slaze screamed as he lifted his hand for the finishing move.

But then he suddenly stopped, his clawed hand was a millimetre away from crushing the card. "W-what the hell!"

"Heh, I gotta admit, this is fun when you get to use it."

Slaze immediately turned to see Yuuta behind him, grabbing his wrist that prevented him from summoning. "Y-you!"

"Y-Yuuta!" Maiko gasped, "How did you get up there so fast?"

Yuuta revealed his katana in his right hand a swung it. Slaze's eyes immediately widened at the sight of the moving sword and pulled out of Yuuta's grip violently. As Slaze jumped back Yuuta's sword managed to nick him in the upper arm. Sticking the blade into the ground and placing his hand on the handle like an arm rest, Yuuta continued, "I had a little help from his guy..."

He pointed his other hand's thumb behind him. A blue glow was emanating behind the house and was getting brighter and brighter. The source was revealed as it rose up to the roof.

A man wearing a black leather vest with spikes on the shoulder pads and tattered dark jeans rose up, riding a jet black cruiser motorcycle, decorated with a green stripe on the each of its pipes. The man's face couldn't be seen as he wore black motorcyclist's helmet that had a tinted visor and a green stripe through the middle. His hands had fingerless leather gloves and his exposed arms had black straps around his elbows. He also wore black army boots.

The new Persona punched its fist in the air.

"_I am thou, and thou art I... from the sea thy soul I come... I am Zephyrus... rider of the west winds. Can you can keep up with me?"_

The rider disappeared as Yuuta brought out his card. "All I did was smash this and I could go really fast. If Reiji's theory is right, I inherit whatever speed, power and skill my Persona has. Though I still don't get half of it," He pulled his katana out of the roof and pointed at Slaze, "What I do get is that I can kick your ass!"

"Grrr..." Slaze growled, "One after another, you're all still underestimating me..." He reached down to the end of the right side of his jeans and pulled out a kitchen knife that was holstered under the end of his jeans. He twirled it in his hand as he spat out, "I am one of Lord Zorn's oldest and most experienced warriors! I will not lose to a couple of greenhorns!"

He stomped his right foot behind him, ready to charge. "I'll kill all of you!" He launched towards Yuuta, "Graaaahhhhhhh-!"

_Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!_

Slaze stopped suddenly, his eyes bulged as he realised that he couldn't feel any warmth in his feet. They were cold, terribly cold, "What the-!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You forgot to watch your back, sicko."

Slaze looked behind him and saw Miwa on the roof with him with a wide grin on her face as she rubbed her yellow choker between her index finger and thumb. With her arm reaching up to her neck as it rested on her other arm that was wrapped around her waist, her smile became little more... sinister, "It wasn't easy trying to summon whatever these things are..." She glanced upwards, "But I'm pretty happy with what I got."

Slaze looked at her with a confused look for a brief moment before her words clicked in his head. He quickly looked up to see what Miwa had referred to.

A masked woman was hovering above all of them, basking and glowing in blue light. Her face was concealed in dark blue face mask that had air holes around her mouth and a tinted glass visor over her eyes while her brown, wavy hair that went down to her hands was decorated with blue roses, one on each side at the top of the mask. Her blue dress with thin white stripes vertically decorating it had wide sleeves at her hands and the gown part of the dress went down to her knee caps. Covering her breasts and torso was steel armour and her neck was covered by a frilled collar and a black choker. In her right hand she held elegant long sword with a golden handle as her left held a silver whip.

As the Persona looked down on her summoner, Nanako and Maiko knew whatever face hide behind that mask was smiling as broadly as Miwa was.

"_I am thou, and thou art I... from the sea thy soul I come... I am Hippolyta... the strongest queen among queens. I will aid you in conquering your greatest fears." _

With a brief flash of blue light the Persona vanished.

Slaze, who was now staring dumbstruck at Miwa, felt his legs becoming cooler. "I-ice magic? You're a bufu spell user?"

"If 'bufu' means ice, then it looks like it" said another voice.

Slaze turned to see Reiji clawing his way up to the roof via the drain pipes. Still wrapping his bleeding torso with his arm, he looked a little better than he was a few minutes ago.

"Reiji!" exclaimed Nanako, "What are you doing? You're still hurt!"

Reiji simply shook his head and chuckled, "Ha ha! It'll take more than this to stop me from punching this guy's face. That, and..." He pointed to his torso with his free hand, "I seem to be healing a lot faster than usual."

"Regeneration!" Slaze exclaimed, now having fear in his eyes, "You bitches! Don't tell me all of you have awakened!"

Reiji shrugged, "I don't think I have. I'm just healing faster-!"

Reiji suddenly bent over and coughed out blood. "_Koff_! _Koff_! Gack!"

Maiko's eyes widened in horror as she witnessed Reiji's sudden suffering. She screamed "Reiji!"

"Miwa! Aren't you going to help him?" Yuuta yelled.

"I'm already on it!" Miwa replied, "Hippolyta! Use Dia!"

She crushed the blue card she summoned into her hand. Hippolyta appeared and raised her sword up in a graceful manner as light shone on the tip. Reiji's torso was basked in the same light and his wound closed. After the light faded not a scar was left.

Reiji stopped coughing and reigned in his breath. "_Pant_... _Pant_... Thanks Miwa..." With a shake of his head he stood up straight and looked his opponent in the eye, "I'm all ready to give this guy what he deserves."

To say that Slaze was agitated at the display of such magic from a bunch of inexperienced kids would've been an understatement. "Healing magic too! What's wrong with this world! They shouldn't be able to perform such techniques until after years of training!" He gritted his teeth, "Before you become any more powerful..." He shifted his hand upward and clawed down at the red card, "I'll kill you! Single Shot!"

Berith came back once again and readied its trident at Reiji.

Yuuta sprang into action, "Not while I'm around! Zephyrus!" Crushing his card, Yuuta called back Zephyrus. "Garu!"

The rider simultaneously twisted both of his bike's handles inwards and the motorcycle roared into life. The wind started to gather quickly around Slaze into a twister-like shape.

"Dammit-!" Slaze swore and tried to run but he was too slow, the wind centred and twisted at him and he was sent flying upwards. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

With its summoner dazed and winded, Berith vanished before its trident reached Reiji. But Reiji was no longer there.

Slaze rose up into the sky, several dozen metres above Inaba. Unable to manoeuvre himself in mid-air he swore, "Shit! Those damn brats! When get down there I'll-!"

Slaze stopped as he felt like he wasn't alone. He was facing downwards looking down on Inaba when he felt a shadow of a presence behind him. Wanting to know what could be following him on his way down; he turned his head to look.

What he saw made his eyes bulge in shock. A giant, almost as tall as the Dojima Residence, loomed over him in blue light. Its face was concealed with the front of a knight's visor helmet, as the back of his head was exposed revealing his wild green hair and tanned brown skin. On his head lay a crown of green thorns. He donned a large silver chest plate, silver arm guards and shin guards while his hands were covered by metal gauntlets that each had a ring of gold in the palm areas. Under his chest plate he wore a white roman tunic that looked worn down with all the holes and tears at the bottom part. His feet wore white socks and roman sandals.

"_I am thou, and thou art I... from the sea thy soul I come... I am Gilgamesh... king of Uruk! My strength is yours to use."_

Slaze looked up even further and saw Reiji smirking while riding on the giant's back.

"Heh," Reiji muttered, "You know, summoning these things for the first time really takes a lot out of you."

"Y-you too! You brats are really-!"

"Gilgamesh!" Reiji roared and at the mention of his name Reiji's Persona readied his fists in attention. "Sonic Punch!"

Gilgamesh raised his fist and whammed it down into Slaze's back, creating a cracking noise.

"Gah!" Slaze coughed out. The attack propelled him to descend much faster as he sailed down to the ground.

He made impact. There wasn't really many other ways of saying it when he hit the ground and made a crater in the road in front of the Dojima Residence. The crater, about two metres deep, held Slaze in the centre who was writhing in pain. "AARRGGGGGH! I-I'LL KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU! TILL THERE's NOTHING-!"

"Take this!" Nanako shouted as she made her way to the edge of the crater and crushed her card. "Ariel!"

The angel heard her cry and appeared before her.

"Hama!"

Ariel lifted her balancing scales and the scales' pans tilted to the right.

'_N-no! I feel it coming!'_Slaze was thinking frantically. A shining symbol of light appeared on the ground he laid on. '_I have to get away!'_ He tried pulling himself out of the symbol but he had no strength left to do so. The paper charms rose up from the symbol. _'I have to-!'_

Too late.

A flash of blinding light flashed within the symbol, burning anything inside it. Slaze became a shadow in the light as its energy burned him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

_Meanwhile_

"_Huff... huff..."_

Akihiko got down on one knee, panting as had used his Evoker for the one hundredth today. "You're sure stubborn..."

Sabina the masked nun had her trident vertical with the end in the ground. Breathing heavily as well, she talked back. "Same can be said about you two..."

Something rushed behind her. She whirled around to see Ken bringing up his fist.

"Get out of our way!" he screamed.

Having no hope of dodging with her current lack of breath, she twirled her trident and impacted the non-bladed end into Ken's stomach.

"Oof!" Ken staggered back, but determined to defeat his foe, he pulled out his Evoker and shot. "V-Vile Assault!"

Kama-Nemi loomed over them and threw its robotic arms at Sabina, only to hit the pavement... again.

Ken turned and saw Sabina on the other side of the road, still blocking their way. "You're kidding me. Every time I use Vile Assault she keeps jumping. And light attacks are nearly useless."

"What else can we do?" Akihiko asked with lack of breath. "_Huff_... Every time we make a break for Dojima-san's house she always manages to cut us off. We can't get to them unless we take her out first."

"At least..." Ken continued, "She looks like she's actually breathing hard."

Indeed she was. Using her trident as a support, she was slouching and panting. '_I knew these two were good, but I didn't expect them to have regained more than half their power already. At this rate I'll have to summon-'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by low beeping sound. She held up her wrist to reveal a gold bracelet with blue gems imbedded in it. The gems were glowing and fading, in time with the sound's rhythm.

'_He's calling me? That must mean Slaze has fallen. Then the children are-'_

"Ziodyne!"

Sabina snapped back to reality to see Caesar raising his globe and lighting coming straight at her. "No-!"

The lighting attack hit its mark and created and cloud of dust where it hit.

"Did you get her?" Ken asked his friend.

Akihiko smiled with a look of accomplishment. "I think I finally did."

A white figure shot out of the dust cloud. Grasping her limp left arm as the white cloth covering it was now singed brown. Soon after that a small box followed her and drifted into her sleeve. The trident was nowhere to be found.

"She's resistant to lighting." Akihiko stated. "Otherwise the burn would've been worse."

Ken nodded in agreement. "But she's got be tired by now."

Still bracing her arm, Sabina staggered left and right. '_Slaze has fallen... that means I've held off these two long enough. He's called me, so it's safe to get back now.'_ Listening to her judgement, she turned away from Ken and Akihiko. Jumping into a step forward, she sped off and vanished from view.

"W-where did she go?" Ken stammered.

"Never mind that!" Akihiko shouted as he made his way to his car. "Now that she's gone we can get to Dojima-san's! Get in!"

Ken nodded and rushed to the passenger seat. _'Don't worry guys. We're coming!'_

_Dojima Residence_

Gilgamesh descended and vanished as it came close enough to the ground. Reiji landed gently and walk towards the edge of the crater as Nanako and Maiko did. Yuuta and Miwa jumped down from the roof safely in one leap and landed near the edge of the crater.

Yuuta stared at the smoking man in the large crater. "Whoa dude... I think you overdid it."

"Not to me." Reiji mumbled.

"I-Is he dead?" asked Maiko. She shivered at the thought of killing someone, even if it was in self-defence.

"C'mon, the guy's been shot several times in the stomach and one time in the head." Reiji replied. "Even if normal weapons don't affect him that much, I doubt a sped up crash landing's gonna make him kick the bucket. He's probably just out cold."

"I... I think so too." said Miwa.

The other four looked at her with a puzzled look in on their faces.

"W-well..." Miwa stuttered nervously, "It's like my Persona telling me what's the condition of everything around, even though I haven't summoned it."

"Does this mean your Persona is more of a sensor type?" asked Nanako after recalling her memory of Rise summoning her Persona to analyse a humungous Shadow all those years ago.

"Huh?" Miwa wasn't sure what Nanako was talking about. "W-well, Hippolyta's senses can tell me what power people have. But it's very weak and I know that Hippolyta is more suited fighting that staying back and observing."

"Um... guys?" Yuuta asked hesitantly. "Where's the other guy?"

Nanako quickly turned to the front of her house, remembering where the iron man was standing and watching. But in his place was nothing, he was simply gone. "Where did he go?"

"That's what I'm asking!" Yuuta exclaimed in panic. "Don't tell me he went to get reinforcements! I don't think we can handle another battle so soon!"

Maiko turned to Miwa. "Miwa! Do you sense anything?"

Miwa closed her eyes and place both hands on her head. "I... I can't sense the other man. He's probably gone..."

Reiji stomped his foot. "That coward! Leaving his own comrade to die while he fetches help!"

"W-wait!" Miwa shouted as her mind tweaked, "I sense something else! It's-!"

Miwa whirled her head to the crater. Slaze was still down and smoking. But that didn't catch Miwa's eyes. What did catch her eyes was the red card under his hand. "E-everyone! He's still-!"

Slaze clawed the earth as well as crushing his card as he raised his head with his black eyes burning with rage. "Berith!"

The knight came to his call with its trident held up. With great force it came down towards Maiko.

"Maiko look out!" Nanako screamed. "Ariel!"

Summoned again, Ariel jumped in front of Maiko and parried Berith's trident with her rapier.

"He's still awake!" Yuuta exclaimed. "This guy doesn't know when to quit!"

Rising up slowly, Slaze stood up with his smoking singed clothes that were still intact. "An instantaneous light attack?" he question the five above him, "Ha! I did say that light and dark attacks usually render people unconscious. But not anymore. Nowadays, Hama and Mudo spells inflict a crazy amount of damage if it hits. Which is still a fifty-fifty chance. Now then..." he gritted his teeth, "I'LL FINALLY KILL YOU!"

He ripped off the sleeve on his right hand. Imbedded in his flesh on his upper arm was the same red card that he used to summon.

Reiji observed that crazy man's arm. "What's that?"

"G-guys!" Miwa screamed, "Hippolyta's in panic! Don't let him break that card!"

"Too late, you maggots!" Slaze cried and he swung his left hand in a fist to break the card.

"Stop!" Nanako screamed.

"Gak!"

The five teenagers froze just as Slaze suddenly stopped. Slaze felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see a metal chain with a large bullet end hanging out his chest. Slaze slowly turned behind him as the pain kept on stabbing him. There his eyes followed the end of the chain that had pierced him from behind.

Holding the other end of the chain was the metal hand of his masked superior whose right arm no longer had its metal chain wrapped around it.

"Y-You!" Slaze coughed out as well as black blood. "W-What the- _Koff!_ hell are you doing!"

"Zorn's orders..." The iron man replied unemotionally.

_Ten hours ago..._

The throne room of the stone castle was dimly lit with torches as the iron man and his supreme leader discussed in private.

"Do you understand the importance of this mission?" Zorn asked the silent iron man.

"... I understand very well milord."

The butterfly mask man smiled. "Good. See to it that _all _of them awaken after I give the order. You may leave."

The masked man turned to the large double doors and walked away.

"Oh wait."

The masked man stopped at his leader's sudden output.

Zorn sat on his throne and stared at the masked man. "There is one more thing you need to do for this mission."

"...And that is?" the man asked as emotionless as ever.

Zorn's smile grew wider. "Have you heard of one of my oldest subordinates? Slaze of the Hanged Man Platoon?"

The masked man looked away. "Yes, one of the first to be recruited be you milord. His Persona his known as Berith and his rank is Munifex."

"Heh." Zorn chuckled. "If you know that much about him am I safe to assume that you've heard the rumours about him as well?"

"I have heard of them. They say that anyone who angers him and goes on a mission with the next day mysteriously disappears. But such rumours are just what they are, rumours."

"Ah yes, well, it's not exactly the case here." said Zorn who sounded almost uninterested with the mention of the rumour. "I've had my Special Ops follow him on a few of his missions. It turns out that the rumours are true. He has slaughtered many of our own on whim during missions and he merely states that his victims are 'missing in action'." Zorn's smile turned into a dark frown. "I cannot tolerate anyone who kills off my own men for no good reason if the killer is also one of our own. It just makes more work for me."

"And what is it that you want me to do about him?" the masked man asked, this time he was curious.

Zorn merely put on his smile on again. "Take him with you on your assignment. Your rank is currently Evocati, a much higher rank than the Munifex, so he has no right to refuse. Make him test the children. Let the children wear him down. And when his usefulness has come to an end..."

Zorn grinned. "Liquidate him."

_The present..._

"Y-You lie!" Slaze splattered. "Lord Zorn would never-!"

"Zorn would and he has." replied the iron man, "I don't like to do this, even to you Slaze. But when you cut down your victims, who were your own comrades, did they plea for mercy? And did you offer it to them?"

Slaze's eyes widened as he ran down memory lane, remembering the begging and the kneeling his victims did just before he finished them.

"I'm sorry Slaze." the masked man continued with guilt in his voice. He held up his metal hand as a blue tarot card fell into it. "I truly am."

"Hold on a second!" Maiko yelled but she got no reply.

He held the card between his fingers and gently crushed it. "Come... Helel"

Blue aura surrounded him as a looming figure appeared above him. A blonde man with two elegant horns sprouting from his head and six feathery wings on his back, three on each side, came into view. With most of his body exposed except for the long white cloth that covered him, the angel descended beside his caller.

The man raised his hand and pointed at the man in the crater. "Morning Star."

Helel lifted his right hand as he was given his command.

"N-No! Wait! Please!" Slaze cried out, trying to pull the chain out of his chest.

"Like you did with your comrades?" the masked man questioned.

Blue light shone in the crater, quickly becoming brighter and brighter.

"Wait!" Nanako pleaded "What are you doing!"

The blue light had gotten bright enough. The masked man raided his hand and brought it down.

Slaze, in the midst of the light, helplessly struggled to get out. "NOOOO-!"

The light shone intensely in an instant, purging the helpless man inside.

"AAAARGHHHHHHH!"

Slaze didn't suffer for long. He became black in the light and his form eventually faded as it disintegrated.

The instant was over. Everyone but the masked man shielded their eyes due to the light's intensity.

"W-what the hell just happened?" asked Yuuta who was still cringing under the effects of the light.

Miwa looked as rattled as Yuuta did as she stuttered "H-he killed him..." She kept shaking as she put her hands together in front of her similarly to praying. "I-I don't sense that man's presence anymore. He's gone..."

The chain that pierced through Slaze's chest was left unscratched and clean within the crater. The iron man simply flicked his wrist and the chain flicked back at him... and defied the laws of gravity as it flung and swirled around his upper arm. It tightened and wrapped itself around his arm until it was in the exact same position when the teenagers first saw him. "...Mission accomplished. Now to finish my real objective."

"Hold on a second!"

The masked metal man turned to see Reiji slowly marching towards him. And Reiji didn't look happy. "I ain't gonna let you slip away like that."

"Reiji, stop." Nanako warned him.

Reiji ignored her. "I didn't like that guy who attacked us very much, but that doesn't mean I'm fine with you killing him off like that! I can't stand people who cold-heartedly kill other people."

"Him?" The masked one questioned. "I didn't like it as much as you did but I had my orders. And besides," He crossed his arms, "He wasn't what you consider human."

"Dang... this guy's got some serious problems, saying that his partner wasn't human..." Yuuta muttered softly. Everyone heard him anyway.

Reiji's balled fists relaxed a little as he took in the stranger's words. "No... He's telling truth Yuuta. That guy was shot by real guns and yet he wasn't affected. I wouldn't consider him human either."

"Then may I tell you what he was?" spoke the masked man.

Everyone else looked at him in confusion. "B-but," Maiko started, "You're our enemy aren't you? You're working for the same guy that man was working for, right?"

The masked man clenched his fists. "... Let me clear two things. First, I have no master and I never will. Second, it is your choice if you want to listen to me, whether you consider me an enemy or not."

The five stared at him in thought. They all looked at each other for indications of agreement and eventually turned to Nanako. Nanako turned back to the man and nodded. "Alright. We'll hear you out."

The man nodded back with a silent thank you. "Let's start off with a little history lesson."

"Definitely not my forte..." Yuuta groaned.

The man continued. "Since a dozen millennia after the worlds of universes and dimensions alike formed, there have been gods and there have been deities. In this world, there are probably a couple of hundreds of gods and goddesses that have been here. But," His tone grew slightly deeper, "There are a special calibre of gods out there, ones who rule above the rest. These are known as Eternates."

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Reiji roared. "We wanted answers, not mythology lessons!"

"Patience is a virtue and this has everything to do with what just happened." The iron man continued with his explanation. "These Eternates were children of forces that created everything, although we do not know what these forces are. Some say they don't even have consciousnesses or are even alive. The Eternates are, however, very intellectual. They treated each other like real siblings and as such, shared the universe. The universe was split up into more than twenty territories, each owned by one of the Eternates They would nurture, watch and observe their territories and leave it to the inhabitants, whether they were gods or mortals. When some of them were considered too young for the responsibility of their part of the universe, another would run it until they have matured. Which I believe the appropriate age for Eternates at their youth is about twenty billion years old."

"T-that's when they're in their youth?" Miwa asked.

The man ignored her. "However, there was one exception to this rule. Someone who demanded to rule his territory at the age of fifteen billion years. He was known to the Eternates as Zorn."

'_Zorn!'_ Nanako frantically remembered the man who attacked them at the gas station.

"I take it that you've already met him." The masked man spoke as he saw the reaction on Nanako's face. "He was the one who awakened you five to your potential."

"Y-you don't mean that butterfly mask guy who stuck his hand through us!" Yuuta asked in distress.

"It is very likely that was him." The masked man replied. "At the time he seemed responsible enough to rule his part of the universe. But after a hundred years, he wanted more. He wanted other's territory and would seek any means of claiming it. He began by invading worlds, one at a time."

Nanako shivered at the memory of the crazy look Zorn had when she met him. "He's mad..."

The masked man nodded. "He wanted everything. He wasn't satisfied with his fair share. He started recruiting people with potential on those worlds and brought them into his army. With his warriors on the worlds he sought for, he manages to claim them easily. But claiming one world at a time has become too slow for him. Now, he wants an entire galaxy. This galaxy."

"W-what!" Miwa spluttered. "Are you saying that he wants to have a war in this galaxy?"

"Precisely." replied the man. "He will stop at nothing to claim it. But there is only one way to claim an entire galaxy. That is the _Crusade Tourney. _The Tourney is a tournament that puts a galaxy owned by a challenged Eternate at stake. Whoever makes the challenge gets t decide how competitors will be chosen and how it will be played."

"That's... a little unfair isn't it?" asked Maiko.

The man shook his head. "The challenger takes a huge risk. If the one who makes the challenge loses, his or her entire territory goes to the victor."

"Woah... no wonder the challenger gets such a huge advantage..." Yuuta muttered.

"The challenged has no right to refuse." The man continued, "Zorn has set his eyes on this galaxy, and has chosen the awakened on this planet to compete in the Tourney."

"That means us, right?" Reiji questioned.

"And others too." The man replied, "Of course, there were too many of them here, so we decided to put them away."

Nanako's mind put the pieces together. "You're the ones who kidnapped Big Bro and the others! Aren't you!"

"... Yes, it was us." He answered. He put his hands up as Nanako angrily pulled up her claws. "But I assure you, they are all safe and unharmed. I swear it."

"You better..." Nanako glared at him and slowly put down her fists that held her claws.

"I want to warn you," He continued, "The one you call Amada, he will fight with you too. He is one of the awakened."

"Ken-sensei?" Maiko questioned to herself, "But why would-?"

"Time is short, I cannot stay long." The man interrupted. "There will be many others too, but you will meet them in time. And to answer your question from before..." He gestured to where Slaze used to be, "He was a Shadow."

"A what?" Yuuta asked.

"A Shadow..." Nanako answered, remembering Teddie's explanation on Shadows and Personas. "Shadows are suppressed ego that holds people's darkest secrets and is often savage when it takes form. And when tamed, it becomes a new entity, a Persona."

Reiji looked at her in confusion. "Like our Personas? Are you saying they're our Shadows?"

"And our Shadows are us." Nanako replied, "Reflections, like a mirror..."

"Well explained little one." said the man. "Those who control Personas are the awakened. But Slaze, the man who tried to kill you, was a Shadow. But he had a Persona."

It was Miwa's turn to ask questions, "W-why exactly?"

"Slaze, was a different type of Shadow. He is what we call a Neo-Shadow, Shadows that look human and have Personas. A Neo-Shadow is an ordinary Shadow that left its mortal original and met Zorn. Zorn enchants the Shadow with the darkest of forces and makes the Shadow stronger. But there is one more thing that needs to be done before the Shadow becomes a Neo-Shadow."

"A-and that is?" Nanako queried.

"... The Shadow has to take the life of its mortal original."

Nanako's eyes widened as the words sunk into her mind. "T-then that man, Slaze, he..."

"Yes, he killed his mortal self tens of thousands of years ago. Neo-Shadows immediately take on the form and lives of its original, making them look human. Of course, you know he was far from it. That's why I went through with the order to execute him even though I didn't like it, he had killed someone for his own selfish reasons."

He went on. "Neo-Shadows however, are usually only as strong as novice mortal Persona users. Anyone who awakens by Zorn's power, with a few exceptions like you five, can only gain one Persona that resides in the Wild Card. Neo-shadows also apply to this rule, but once they awaken they are stuck with the same power level forever. They can't grow any stronger. Mortal Persona Users can grow, but not Neo-Shadows. That is their biggest flaw."

The man turned away. "But be aware, they are many Neo-Shadows and other Persona Users like you five in Zorn's army. And they'll be after you. You have three days to prepare for departure to the Tourney, say your farewells while you can, you might not make it back... I will take my leave." He started walking.

"Wait!" Nanako yelled after him. The man froze as he listened to Nanako. "Why are you telling us this?"

"... I only pray that the most righteous side will win the Tourney." He answered. "You are now this galaxy's hope. You must win."

He reached into a pouch that was wrapped around his waist and took out a small box. He threw to Nanako. "Catch!"

Nanako caught it and looked at it. The box was plain but for a gem imbedded in one of the sides.

"Activate it before you are sent to the Tourney. You will need it."

"What is-?" Nanako started but was interrupted by another voice.

"I'm here!"

Everyone turned to see a masked white nun running towards the masked man. Sabina, who was panting in exhaustion and pain from her singed arm, fell into the man's arms. "I-I'm sorry, the other ones are coming and overwhelmed me when you called. I-"

"It's alright Sabina..." The man soothed as her helped her to her feet. "You bought me enough time. That was more than I asked for." He pulled out a gold amulet from his pouch and held it up. "Traesto!"

A door opened in the air behind them as darkness and shadow spilled out. "Let us leave."

"Wait!" Nanako yelled again. "Who are you?"

The man held the nun bridal style and walked towards the door. He stood at the edge of the door and turned his head towards the five teenagers. He continued walking, he went through into the darkness. As the door closed his came out.

"I am Zatch."

* * *

Yay! 4th is done! Now the tourney and some mysteries are being answered, but will Nanako and her friends managa to live through this new ordeal? Keep reading to find out! Read and Review please!


	5. Chapter 5 The teachers

The stone walls of the castle were dimly lit with torches as a door of darkness opened in the air. Stepping out of the shadowy dimension, the iron man Zatch carried his companion into the castle.

"Y-you can let me down now... Zatch." said Sabina as Zatch continued to walk with her in her arms.

"You're still injured. I'm only taking you to the medical area." He replied.

Sabina, though she couldn't show it behind her mask, blushed. "Y-you know very well I can heal myself-"

"Well, if it isn't the new guys!"

Zatch turned slowly to see a blonde man in a white vest with a blue stripe on it. "Tozu..."

The blonde man chuckled. "Heh, your first mission was a complete success, huh?" He walked towards the two masked ones and had a relaxed look in his dark blue eyes. "I've got good news for you, Zatch. Lord Zorn's decided to promote you already. You'll be one of the Arcana Knights now, the best of the best!"

"...tell Zorn I have no interest in becoming one of his elite 'Arcana Knights'."

Tozu disappeared from sight for a split-second and reappeared in front of them. "Aw, still giving me the cold shoulder?"

"Out of my way..." Zatch muttered.

"Now listen, Zatch," Tozu lazily leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, "Everyone knows you're one of the most powerful warriors in this entire army. Heck, I bet you could be on par with either Nero or me. You'd be one of the best knights."

Zatch remained silent and continued walking.

"Aren't you even going to consider it?" asked Tozu.

"I told you, I don't want to be part of the knights. And as you're the leader of the knights," Zatch turned his head slightly towards Tozu, "You should know there are already twenty knights. There isn't room for another."

"Details, who needs them?" chuckled Tozu. "There will always be changes when it comes to rankings."

"Hmph..." Zatch kept on walking.

"Oh dear..." Tozu sighed to himself as Zatch and Sabina walked around the corner. "This horse is gonna be a tough one to break."

Zatch carried Sabina down the hall as she had kept silence throughout the entire conversation. She finally spoke, "We'll have to be more careful now..."

"I know..."

Sabina looked at him. "Perhaps we shouldn't go for another mission so soon."

Zatch nodded. "Anything to avoid any attention."

"And perhaps we could go around the country side to find-"

Zatch shook his head. "It wouldn't matter. Most people are already keeping an eye on us. And we've already seen that dance yesterday..."

"Yes, the dance of passing." Sabina sighed, "This planet has such peculiar traditions..."

Zatch looked at her and though she couldn't see his face she knew he was smiling warmly. "But you've always been fascinated with other cultures and traditions." he commented.

"You know me too well..." she sighed, this time with content. "...why did you turn down the promotion? A position like that will certainly-"

"I turned it down because anyone with a rank like that will certainly draw attention and watchful eyes. Remember why we came here..."

"...Of course. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight."

Zatch carefully carried her through a large wooden door. "And that's why I'm taking you to a medic."

"Hmm..." Sabina sighed as she secretly smiled.

_Inaba, Dojima Residence_

The storm had passed as white clouds decorated the blue sky. Nanako sat on a nearby pile of rubble on the edge of the crater as she looked off into the distance with the cube in her hands. "Did..." she hesitantly muttered, "Did we really win?"

Yuuta walked up behind her and patted her on the back. "Hey, I know how hallow the atmosphere is right now, but cheer up! That Slaze guy wanted to kill us, but we're still alive _and_ we got superpowers now. So I'll gladly take it as a win!"

Nanako looked blankly at him for a few seconds before chuckling. "Ha ha, yeah, I guess it should be a win." But then she but on a face of concern, "But I'm still worried about what Zatch said. About in three days time we'll be battling for the galaxy."

"I personally think it's a bunch of bull." Reiji commented as he climbed down the crater he had taken an interest to. "Yet, considering we just summoned powers and we created all of this, I feel a little stupid not to believe it."

Nanako looked around and saw that Maiko and Miwa were out of sight. "Where are Miwa and Maiko?"

Yuuta pointed his thumb behind him to the Dojima Residence. "Inside, Maiko decided to lie down and Miwa's tending to the officers. Oh, and she's also making some coffee for you."

Nanako smiled. "You two know me well."

Yuuta put on a smug grin. "Heh, heh. Yeah, we sure do."

Her head turned at the sound of a car approaching. Around the corner appeared police car with a familiar face in the passenger seat. "Nanako!"

Nanako's eyes widened as she heard the shouting voice. "Ken-san?"

"Amada-sensei?" Reiji exclaimed.

The car stopped and two men, both with their clothes ripped at the sleeves and legs, stepped out. Ken ran to his students. "Are you alright?"

Yuuta pointed at Ken's arms. "We should be asking you that!"

Akihiko slowly walked towards them as he kept his eyes on the huge crater. "These are your students Ken?"

Ken nodded. "Three of them," he turned back to his students, "Where's Miwa? And Maiko?"

Nanako pointed to her house. "In there."

Ken let his head down in relief. "Phew, I was worried about you guys."

"What on earth happened here?" Akihiko asked.

Yuuta rubbed the back of his head and looked up to the sky. "Um... we were watching meteorites... I think."

Akihiko glared at him put his hand on his holster unconsciously. "The truth. Now."

Yuuta back-peddled. _'Gulp'_

"Ken-san," Nanako whispered "Isn't this your friend who we met at the Inn? Is he a police officer?"

"Yes, he happens to be an old friend who lived in the same dorm as I did." replied Ken. "Of course, he was a senior and I was only eleven at the time."

Nanako stepped towards Ken and, with hesitation, whispered "Does... does he also have a Persona?"

Ken's eyes widened and stared at Nanako in shock. "N-Nanako, how do you know about-"

Akihiko sighed, interrupting Ken and Nanako's conversation. "Fine, if you're not willing to tell the truth, I can understand. But..."

"But what?" asked Reiji.

Akihiko gestured to the crater. "How am I going to explain this to Dojima-san?"

Everyone looked at the crater in front of the Dojima Residence as Yuuta put his hand on his forehead. "Um... that's a good question."

The noise of another car caught their attention. Everyone turned to see another police car speeding towards the street. As it reached the corner it braked and Ryotaro Dojima stepped out of the driver seat. "Nanako!"

"D-Dad!" Nanako exclaimed as her father rushed towards her.

"D-D-Dojima-san" Akihiko spluttered, unable to find the words to save his hide.

Ryotaro halted in front of his daughter and held her by the shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"Dad," Nanako calmly responded. "I'm fine."

Ryotaro sighed and relaxed. Only for a split second. He turned to Akihiko with a glare. "What the hell happened here?"

"Um, I'm not sure Dojima-san." Akihiko replied "My friend and I just got here too."

Ken looked back at the police car Ryotaro was driving and saw Namatame stepping out of the back seat with his assistant. "You didn't drop Namatame and Akemi at the station?"

"Of course not!" Dojima snapped at him. "Just as I arrived at the station I picked up the radio to call the new rookies. I heard one of them screaming out 'Fire!', so I didn't have time to interrogate these two. I came straight here!"

"Dad... you can let go now." Nanako mumbled as her father's hands tightened around her shoulders.

"Ah! Sorry Nanako." Ryotaro apologised after letting go of Nanako. "... Everyone get inside. I want a word with all of you."

Akihiko raised his hand in gentle objection. "Dojima-san, I don't that's necessa-"

"Inside now!" Dojima ordered.

Everyone flinched at the sudden exclamation as Miwa came out of the house holding a tray with three mugs of freshly made coffee. Everyone turned to her as she stopped and gazed confusingly at the crowd.

"Err... Coffee, anyone?"

_Ten minutes later_

Inside the Dojima Residence Ryotaro put his coffee down on the dining table after listening to his daughter's story. After the longest minute of Nanako's life he finally said "I don't believe it."

Nanako sighed at her father's response. "I didn't expect you to believe it."

Ken and Akihiko remained silent by the dining table as their thoughts were over the battle Nanako and her friends had only half an hour ago. Miwa, Maiko, Reiji and Yuuta were sitting on the couch, waiting for Ryotaro to finish interrogating them. Yuuta played with his thumbs as Miwa had her head down. Reiji had his head in his hands and, by the sound of his constant moaning, he was moping.

Maiko just had her head facing the dining table. _'What on earth happened while I was asleep?'_

"Nanako," Ryotaro sighed, "This is the exact same thing that happened with Souji and the others back then and I told all of them that I still don't believe that ridiculous story. I'm still sticking to my word."

"But Dad!" Nanako exclaimed, "What else could've made such a crater?"

"Probably an ordinary gas leak..." Ryotaro replied as he took another sip of his coffee.

Nanako slammed her hands down on the table. "No gas leak could've caused a crater in the middle of the street! Especially one that deep!"

"I-I think she's telling the truth..."

Ryotaro and Nanako turned to see Namatame and Akemi standing by the hallway. Namatame cleared his throat. "I... I don't remember much about what happened ten years ago, but I'm certain that the Personas are real. I saw them myself."

Ryotaro slammed his fist on the table. "I'm still not done with you! I don't care whether you have an alibi or a witness! You're still going to the station!"

"Dad!" Nanako exclaimed. "That's quite enough! He's been through a lot already!"

"Did you forget what he did to you?" Ryotaro questioned his daughter, "I'm still not forgiving him! Not in this lifetime!"

Namatame stepped forward to the dining table and faced Nanako. "T-there's... something I've been meaning to do since that day... Nanako Dojima."

Everyone stared at him as he spoke, waiting for Namatame to do something.

Namatame suddenly came down to the ground, kneeling with his head on the ground and his hands on the ground in front of him. "I'm sorry!"

Nanako stared at the kneeling man, not knowing how to react to this sudden apology.

He continued, "I nearly killed you on that day. I thought I was some kind of... messiah! I-I didn't want any more people to die, like Mayumi and that girl. I thought I was saving you from the killer! Instead I brought you into more danger than any other killer would have! I... I've waited to apologise for all these years. I just didn't have the strength or courage to show my face to you. I'm so sorry."

"Namatame-san" Akemi uttered. He had always pitied Namatame, but he never understood how he felt. Living year after year, not being able to owe up for his sin.

Nanako sat there silently. After a moment of silence she reached down to Namatame and placed her hand on his shoulder. As Namatame looked up in surprise, she gave him a gentle smile. "It's alright."

"Nanako!" snapped Ryotaro.

"It's okay Dad." Nanako sat up and faced her father. "I wanted to see Namatame-san for quite for time too."

Ryotaro stared at Nanako, bewildered at her statement.

She continued. "I wanted him to know that I knew he wanted to keep me safe. I never hated him for it. Even though I nearly- no, I did die on that day, I never resented you because your intention was pure to me. And so..." She turned to Namatame, "I forgive you."

Everyone gazed at Nanako. Her purity and sweetness had pretty much warmed the hearts of everyone in the room.

From the corner of her eye Nanako saw Miwa giving her a thumbs up sign. Miwa smiled widely. '_Way to go Nanako!'_

Ryotaro gazed at his daughter._ 'She really is like her mother...'_ He sighed. "...Namatame, get up."

Namatame did what he was told and looked Ryotaro in the eye nervously.

Ryotaro looked at him back. "If Nanako forgives you, I'm willing to forgive you." He gave out a glare, "But if you step out of line, I'll make sure that you'll spend every minute you deserve in a jail cell."

Namatame bowed his head. "I ask for no more."

Ryotaro nodded slowly and then he turned back to his daughter. "Alright, now that that's settled you can go back to telling me the truth."

Nanako let her head down in discontent. _'Here we go again...'_

"I can prove her story."

Everyone turned to see Ken stepping forward.

Akihiko grabbed his shoulder. "Ken, what are you-"

Ken shook his friend off. "Akihiko, you know what Nanako said is true. We lived it. We fought against the world in it. If she wants her father to know what's happened, then I'll prove it to him."

"Ken, are you crazy?" Akihiko barked at him. "We already got enough people involved already! We can't-"

Ken stomped his foot. "If what Nanako said is true, then the entire galaxy is about to fought over! There's no point hiding it!"

Reiji listened intently to the argument between the friends. '_So they really do have a connection to Personas...'_

Akihiko stared at his friend and eventually backed down. "Fine. If you want to prove to this man that his daughter's story is true, then so be it. But no one else that's not in this room gets to know about it, agreed?"

Ken nodded. "Agreed." He turned to the Dojima's. "Come outside. No one should be around this area at this time of day."

Nanako nodded and quickly walked to the door. Her father slowly walked after her. "... This better be good."

"More than you'll ever imagine." Ken replied. He walked after them too.

Akihiko turned to the four teenagers on the couch. "You better go see this too."

The four looked at each other as Akihiko awaited their response. Yuuta got up and went out the door, keeping his distance from Akihiko. Reiji and Miwa followed after him. Maiko finally stood up and walked. As she passed Akihiko she whispered, "You better tell us what you have to do with this later."

Akihiko smirked, commending Maiko's courage. "You'll know soon enough."

He turned to the delivery men. "As for you two, keep this entire thing to yourselves. You can leave after they're done out there."

Akemi breathed out heavily. "Phew! I thought we were really going to jail..."

_Outside_

The street was empty as the sky had gone orange, bathing in the light of the sunlight.

"Good." Ken commented as he reached into his jacket. "This way there'll be no one to witness this..."

Nanako, Ryotaro, Maiko, Miwa, Reiji and Yuuta stood in front of the door as Ken made his way to the middle of the ravaged street.

Yuuta looked around, scanning for anyone. "Um... Amada-sensei?"

Ken sighed. "Please, call me Ken. Calling me by my last name by you guys makes me feel like I'm already past my youth..."

"Oh, okay Ken-sensei." Yuuta replied, oblivious to Ken's grimace, "What are you gonna show us exactly? I'm not sure how you'll be able to prove our story."

Ken merely shrugged. "Just watch." He pulled out a silver gun from his jacket and pointed to his head.

Yuuta almost fell over backwards. "H-Hey! Wait! Suicide's never an answer!"

"What are you doing?" Ryotaro shouted. "Put that down!"

"Relax, it's not even loaded." assured Ken.

Ken tightened his trigger finger.

"DON'T!" Nanako screamed. The girls closed their eyes shut.

He fired, but it wasn't the sound of a gunshot that came out, but shattered glass.

Maiko opened her eyes to feel a familiar sensation. "This feeling..."

"A Persona!" Reiji exclaimed.

Everyone stood and watched a giant orange machine appear above the crater. It gave out a low moan before disappearing again. Ken put down his gun and looked back at the group of gaping people. "That was Kali-Nemi. He's my Persona. Personas can be summoned for great feats of magic, attack and defence. I just showed you a glimpse of what my Persona looked like."

Ryotaro staggered and sat down on the grass in front of his house. "I-I don't believe it. All those crazy stories, all of them were true..."

Nanako remained silent and looked at the ground for some time.

Ken, who was afraid of Nanako being afraid of him, went closer to her. "Nanako, I-"

Nanako looked up at him, with eyes of calm and relief. Then she swung her hand at him.

_SLAP_!

Ken staggered backwards, rubbing his cheek which had a new red hand mark on it. Everyone stared at Nanako in shock.

"Why didn't you warn us before firing that thing!" Nanako yelled, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Ken looked at her with a confused look on his face. It quickly turned into a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Nanako. I guess I was trying to be spooky, but now I look like an idiot."

Nanako gave Ken a stern look in the eye, then simply shrugged. "Don't ever scare us like that again, OK?"

Ken nodded with a small smile as he was impressed that it was the thought of him killing himself that scared her, not his Persona. He walked over to Ryotaro and offered his hand. "Now do believe them?"

Ryotaro looked blankly at him for a second before taking his hand and stood up. "I-it's taking me a while to let it sink in..."

Yuuta chuckled. "Heh heh, I know how you feel Dojima-san. I knew the feeling only half an hour ago."

Ryotaro chuckled back and took a few deep breaths. His face then went dark as a realisation hit him. "Nanako, if this story really is true, then you'll be fighting an entire army of these... Neo-Shadows?"

Nanako couldn't look her father in the eye. She knew what was going to happen next. "...Yes."

Ryotaro grabbed her shoulders. "Absolutely not!"

"Dad! I'm going! I don't have a choice!"

"I'm not going let you go fight to the death against monsters!" Ryotaro shouted. "This is insane! This is a job for military, or the-!"

"Do you really think the military can fight something like this?" Nanako screamed back. "If you believe me now, then you must know that normal weapons won't hurt their armies! Personas are the only thing that can stand against them and I have one! I'm already involved and I'm not quitting until this is over and Big Bro and the others are back!"

Ryotaro shook her. "Listen to me Nanako! You're only sixteen! A war is not something that a sixteen year old girl can easily walk into and waltz out!"

"I know that!" she screamed back. "I know that perfectly well! But Big Bro and my other friends are trapped and I want to help! Why won't you let-!"

"I CAN'T LOSE YOU AGAIN!"

Everything fell silent after Ryotaro's exclamation. Nanako saw drop of water drop onto the ground. She looked up to see the source, her father's tears.

"I... I can't lose you again..." the father stammered, "When your mother died, you were the only thing that kept me going. And when I saw you... had gone... on that hospital bed all those years ago... I-I didn't know how to go on. The only thing that ran through my head was to make Namatame pay... and then join you afterwards."

Nanako sadly looked at her father with guilt, guilt of not comprehending her own father's feelings. "Dad..."

"I... just don't want to lose you again."

Everyone eyed the two family members as the atmosphere had darkened greatly. No one could say a word.

That is, no one with any courage to.

Yuuta hesitantly stepped forward. "Dojima-san."

Ryotaro and Nanako turned to see Yuuta standing firmly with his hands balled in fists by his side.

Miwa stood behind him and elbowed him. She wasn't pleased with Yuuta's interruption. "Yuuta!" she whispered, "What are you-!"

"Dojima-san..." Yuuta continued before Miwa could interrupt. "I've been Nanako's friend for a long time. I know a lot about her, maybe not as much as you do Dojima-san. But..." Yuuta held his head high. "She's head strong and brilliant. I've seen plenty of guys mock her in sports just because of her gender, but she manages to prove them wrong every time. I know that you don't want to see her hurt Dojima-san. That's why if Nanako's going to fight," Yuuta brought his fist up to his shoulder in confidence, "I'm going to do what it takes to protect her! She's a brilliant leader but she can't do it alone! I wouldn't let her try it alone! She's one of the closest friends I've ever had!"

Nanako stared at him in appreciation. "Yuuta..."

Miwa stood by Yuuta in silence. She hung her head in regret of doubting Yuuta. She then smiled and tapped Yuuta on the back of the head. "Those are my lines you idiot..."

Nanako pushed her father away and stood next to her two best friends. "Dad... I know that you worry about me and I don't want to die either. I... I'm really afraid to go." She put her hands on Yuuta and Miwa's shoulders. "But you trust me Dad. You can trust these guys too. If they didn't want to go, I would've been too scared to decide to whether to go or not. They'll keep me standing and I keep them standing too."

Ryotaro looked at his daughter with realisation in his eyes. The realisation of her little girl growing up. As many parents might've not want to see the day that came, Ryotaro knew that he had to let go. "... alright Nanako, you can go." He suddenly paced his way to her and gave her a hug. "But I want you to promise that you'll come home. I'm not letting you go until you promise that."

"I promise Dad." Nanako hugged him back.

Soon the hug ended and Ryotaro went back inside to get himself some rest. Maiko and Reiji stood on the sidewalk, monitoring the recent events. Reiji, with his arms crossed and his mouth in a small smile, huffed "Damn, we were completely useless this time."

Maiko shrugged and put on a small smile herself. She stretched her arms as she said "Well this was a little bit of a personal matter. We're the new folks around here and we have no right to be speaking out personal stuff like that."

Reiji began to walk to his new friends but then he stopped to face Maiko. "There's always next time."

"Hey you two!"

Reiji and Maiko turned to Nanako who had shouted in their direction. Nanako gestured her hand in a welcoming manner. "We're going to make plans about what we're going to do tomorrow. We going to practice using our Personas, you two need to hear about this."

Maiko and Reiji looked at each other and both of them smiled a little wider. Reiji slowed made his way there as Maiko rushed past him with her hand waving. "Okay Nanako!"

Ken watched from the front of the Dojima Residence as the five friends stood in a circle and discussed their next move.

"Whadya think Ken?"

Ken turned to walk into the house, passing Akihiko who was standing in the doorway. Ken looked down and smiled. "They... remind me a lot about us. When we were still a team."

"We'll be a team again Ken." Akihiko assured him. "I'm sure of it."

_ring! ring!_

Akihiko reached down into his pocket and brought his cell phone. "Akihiko here... Ah! Mitsuru! You're not going to believe this..."

Ken kept walking into the house. _'Better leave Akihiko to explain this...'_

"Ken-san!"

Ken turned to see the young Persona users running towards him. Nanako spoke out first. "Um... c-could you teach us how to use our Personas?"

Ken's eyes widened in surprise. "M-me?"

"Well yeah." Reiji stated. "You're a Persona user too right? And you've obliviously had more experience than we have. We thought that you could give us some tips. Nanako says she knows a great place to train."

"Plus..." Miwa added, "You're our homeroom teacher, so it's your obligation to teach us these things. Think of it as private lessons."

Yuuta moaned in the corner. "I don't want to think of it like that..."

Ken chuckled but then soon after put on a look of hesitation. "Well... I guess I can try. But I think I'll only be able to teach one or two of you guys."

Maiko tilted her head in question. "How come?"

Ken shook his head. "Every Persona is different and though there are some that are similar in ability and strengths, completely different Personas have different methods of usage and practice to each other. I might be able to teach someone how to use a Persona similar to my own, but others will be almost impossible."

"So that means..." Nanako pondered out loud, "We just need to get more teachers..."

Yuuta scratched the back of his head. "It's a good plan but there's only one snag, where are we gonna find people who know how to use Personas? I don't think there's someone down the street who does."

"You're looking for people to teach you?"

Everyone twirled their heads to see Akihiko listening in on their conversation. Akihiko had his arms crossed as he continued, "Then there's always me. I also have a Persona. I bet I can teach you guys a thing or two."

Ken nodded. "Sounds good Akihiko. You've used your Persona longer than I have, so you'll be an excellent teacher. But maybe two or three more people to teach you guys would be more effective..."

"I'm not finished Ken." Akihiko stated. As everyone else looked at him in question he gave a smile. "I know just the right people to train these kids. You know them pretty well too Ken."

Ken's face brightened. "Are you saying that the others can train these guys too? But then we'll have to wait until tomorrow..."

"Errrr... who are we talking about?" Miwa asked.

Akihiko went on. "Don't need to Ken. The others decided to catch an earlier train."

Ken looked more surprised and happy than just before. "Then they're-!"

Akihiko put on a wide grin. "On a bus heading for the inn as we speak."

_Amagi Inn_

A man in a blue baseball cap and retro jeans and jacket dropped himself onto the couch in the Amagi inn lobby. "Woo! Finally! I'm so glad to be off that bus!"

"Iori." murmured a red haired beauty in an elegant outfit similar to a posh woman's horse rider's outfit. "Remember that we are guests in this inn. Do not just simply place yourself there as if you are the only person living here."

Junpei Iori felt chills run down his spine as Mitsuru scolded him, more or less. He sat up straight and then quickly got off the couch. "Y-yes ma'am."

Two other women walked into the lobby. One was in a light blue dress with a dark shawl and the other woman was in a pink leather jacket and jeans. The woman in pink gazed upon the walls. "Wow! This sure is a nice inn."

The blue dressed woman nodded. "It sure is. I wouldn't mind taking a vacation here."

Junpei turned his attention to the two woman. "Yo Yuka-tan, Fuuka-san. Aren't you two glad we got off that bus?"

"Actually I wanted to stay on it for a little while longer." Yukari replied "Inaba has such nice views. I wanted to see more of it through the windows while we were on the bus."

"You serious?" Junpei asked, sounding almost aghast at Yukari's reply. "We were on that thing for ages! I'm still trying to stay awake." He looked around for another person in their group. "Hey, where's Aegis?"

"She's taking Koro-chan out of his cage outside." Fuuka answered him. "They should be joining us any-"

"Arf! Arf!"

Fuuka turned to see a ruby eyed white furred dog running down the hallway. "Koro-chan!"

The dog went up to Fuuka as she bent down to greet him. Koromaru Junior happily licked her cheek.

"He seems very happy to be out of the cage."

A blonde woman walked into the lobby. Her eyes were light blue as her hair had a hair band strapping it down between her ears. Her ears, however, were concealed with round plates with discs inside. The woman herself was wearing a white blouse with a blue ribbon tied around her collar. A long blue skirt followed. The woman gently smiled. "He says that he can finally play with Fuuka nii-san."

Fuuka gave Koromaru Jr. a head rub. "Aw, thank you junior."

"Well someone finally agrees with me!" Junpei stated with a smug grin. "Junior knows just who to side with."

"So you're saying because Koromaru agrees with you he's like you?" Yukari sarcastically asked him.

Koromaru put on of what it looked like a pout. _'whine'_

Yukari laughed. "Ha ha! You're right Koromaru. You're much more civilised than Stupei."

Junpei grimaced and moaned "Stop calling me that..."

Mitsuru smiled as she watched her old friends bicker at each other once again. "Now that we're settled in and our luggage has been sent to our rooms, I suppose we wait for Akihiko and Amada outside."

"Oh! I haven't seen Ken since I went abroad." said Yukari "It's been years since I last saw him. He must be pretty tall now. Of course, I expect Akihiko to be the same as ever."

"He most certainly is." answered Mitsuru. "Of course, we've all changed since the last time we've been together with everyone."

Mitsuru put on a more serious tone. "And a lot has happened here in Inaba. We needed to regroup S.E.E.S in order to investigate the current state of affairs of the Persona users that were residing here. I hope that what Akihiko has told me so far can help."

Junpei slouched and put his hands behind his head. As he looked up at the ceiling he muttered "I've got to ask Mitsuru sempai, what's Akihiko found already? You haven't told us a thing about that call you gave him just now."

Mitsuru looked away and walked down the hall. "You'll see very soon Iori. And I'm sure you'll be surprised."

Junpei turned to see her disappeared down the hall as brain rattled on what she meant. After a long minute thinking, he gave up and walked after her. "C'mon girls. No point staying here. Let's go see Akihiko sempai."

"Why do you continue to call Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san your sempai Junpei?" asked Aegis as she joined him.

Junpei rubbed the underside of his nose. "Force of habit. I can't imagine after our adventure that I wouldn't have to call Mitsuru sempai and Akihiko sempai our upperclassmen anymore. I kinda feels... unnatural to call them anything else."

Yukari and Fuuka walked beside them as Koromaru Junior paced behind. Yukari nodded in understanding. "Same with me. After all we've been through Mitsuru sempai will always be my sempai."

Fuuka turned her head slightly behind her to keep an eye on Koromaru. "What do you think Akihiko sempai has found?"

"Who knows?" Junpei replied as he lifted his arms and placed his hands around the back of his head. "But by the look of Mitsuru sempai, it's gonna be one hell of a surprise."

_Outside the Amagi Inn_

"Here we are."

Two police cars were parked at the front of the Inn as Akihiko Sanada stepped out of the driver's seat of the front car. "It's going to be one nostalgic reunion."

Yuuta burst out of the back seat of the car with Reiji slowly following him. Yuuta stretched out his arms and legs "'_Yawn!'_ Whatever. I just want to get out and stretch my legs. The bus was one thing, but I don't like taking such a long trip in a car either!"

Akihiko chuckled. _'Guess I know who's going to get along well with this one.'_

Ryotaro opened the window of the driver seat in the second car as Nanako, Miwa and Maiko stepped out of the backseats and directed his attention at Akihiko. "You better know what you're doing Sanada."

As Ken stepped out of the passenger seat of Ryotaro's car, Akihiko gave Ryotaro a firm nod. "Don't worry Dojima-san. Your daughter's safe with me."

"With us." Ken added. "She's my student and I don't want to see my students getting hurt on my first day."

"Fine. I'll leave it to you." Ryotaro slowly responded.

Nanako leaned on the windowsill of her father's car. "Dad, it'll be fine. I'm sure you can trust Akihiko-san and Ken-san."

Ryotaro sighed and gave his daughter a small smile. "Alright, take care of yourself Nanako."

"Not unless you take care of yourself first." she retorted. "You're always so stressed at times like these. Go home and get some rest."

Ryotaro chuckled. "Okay, okay I will." He put up the window and slowly drove down the mountain.

Maiko walked up to Akihiko as he began walking into the Inn. "Akihiko-san, who or what exactly is S.E.E.S? Ken-san didn't necessarily give us a detailed explanation in the car. "

"The Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad." Akihiko answered with a proud smirk.

Maiko's eyes widened as she heard 'Execution'. "E-Execution?"

"Ha ha ha! Don't look so scared. S.E.E.S is a team made up of Persona users to destroy Shadows, not humans. I am one of the founding members. The Execution part of the name just means executing missions."

Maiko sighed in relief. "Oh. That's a relief. How many members are there?"

Akihiko let his eyes roll up in thought. "Including Ken and me, I'd say about six other people. We recruited from freshmen to seniors back then."

"High school students?" Maiko questioned. "And this all happened back in Iwatodai?"

"I'm not surprised that you're startled at this, considering you say you lived in Iwatodai nack then. But yes, it did happen there. Of course, we had more members back then than now..."

Maiko looked down before hesitantly asking "There were casualties?"

Akihiko slowly nodded. "We lost two close friends back then. A founding member, Shinjiro Aragaki. He was also my childhood friend."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Akihiko shook his head as he gave a small smile to the girl beside him. "That's alright. Shinji would've pounded me now if I hadn't gotten over it. It wasn't easy, but I knew Shinji would've wanted me to accept his death and move on."

Maiko looked at the silver haired officer as she went through her memories. _'I know how that feels...'_

She came back to reality as a cautious curiosity over came her mind, "And... the other friend?"

Looked down and stopped at the front desk. "One of the most talented and powerful Persona users I have ever seen. He was our field leader. The way he lead us to defeat the Shadows and Nyx was almost flawless. He died saving the entire world from death. He was-"

"Well Akihiko. I see that you brought them here as promised."

Maiko and Akihiko's heads twirled to see Mitsuru Kirijo walking towards them. "Mitsuru!"

"You seem to be doing well Akihiko." the red haired beauty stated in a friendly matter. She turned to look at Maiko. "And you must be one of the new Persona users Akihiko told me about. It sounds like you've had a sudden start into this."

"Um...y- you must be a member of S.E.E.S." Maiko stuttered. She didn't what to say to the woman who had just appeared.

Nanako and the others came in as Mitsuru observed Maiko like a science experiment. Nanako was the first to notice the strange atmosphere. "Err... who are you?"

Ken came out from behind them and his face brightened at the sight of his old upperclassman. "Mitsuru sempai!"

"Amada." Mitsuru noted at his appearance with a positive tone. "You've grown since the last time I saw you."

"Heeeeeeeyyyy!"

Everyone turned to see a waving man in a blue baseball cap walking towards them with three other women and a white dog following him. Junpei saw Ken and ran towards him. He stopped in front of him. "Yo Ken! Remember me?"

"Junpei-san!" Ken exclaimed at the sight of his old friends. "Everyone's here!"

"Ken-kun? Is that you?" Yukari asked in surprise. "You've grown!"

"You've become a fine young man Ken-kun." Fuuka added.

"T-thanks guys." Ken was blushing as he rubbed the back of his head.

Nanako popped next to Ken and whispered into his ear, "Are these people all S.E.E.S members?"

"Yeah, including the dog." Ken replied. "That's Koromaru junior. He can also use a Persona."

"That dog?" Nanako asked herself, but then she dismissed the thought to ponder about it as she remembered she knew a bear who could summon a Persona.

"So Ken, who are the kids behind you?" Junpei asked with a wide grin. "Love children?"

"O-of course not!" Ken snapped back at Junpei. He flustered as he continued, "These are my students. I'm a new teacher here."

"Ohhhhh..." Junpei sheepishly cooed. "I get it. You asked the girls whether they wanted to have private lessons with you, but then they called the guys to come too, right?"

'_This man...'_ Miwa thought uncomfortably, _'Reminds me of Yuuta...'_

"Junpei!" Yukari snapped at him "You haven't grown up a bit!"

"Junpei-san." Ken started after his continuous blushing, "First of all, I did not ask them to have a private lesson with me. And second..."

He mentally prepared for a sudden shouting. "...these kids are Persona users."

The room went silent. Then Yukari, Fuuka, Aegis and Junpei cried out "WHAT?"

Akihiko faced Mitsuru. "I take it you didn't tell them."

"Naturally." Mitsuru replied with a smirk. "I wanted to see the reaction when they were looking at the Persona users themselves."

Akihiko sighed. _'As cunning as ever Mitsuru...'_

"T-these five..." Aegis stuttered, "Have the 'potential'?"

Ken nodded. "If you want proof, check out a street in the residential area. There's a huge crater in the middle of a street. And it wasn't made by a gas leak."

"Heh heh..." Reiji nervously chuckled, "That was probably my fault."

"So you people are going to teach us how to use our Personas?" Nanako asked the adults around her.

"Teach them?" Fuuka asked with a tone of surprise. "Mitsuru sempai, what does she-?"

"I'll explain everything in a moment to all of you." she interrupted. She walked and halted in front of the five waiting teenagers. "Are you sure that you want to enter this... war that you have been warned about?"

Maiko nodded firmly. "Of course. And you're not changing our minds."

"I would expect nothing less." Mitsuru replied. "But let me ask you this, are you ready fight? Are you willing to risk your lives in the war we have been chosen to fight in? Are you?"

The five gave each other confident looks in their eyes. Yuuta nodded his head as Reiji lifted his fist in agreement. Maiko and Miwa gave Nanako their affirmative nods. Then Nanako finally turned back to Mitsuru. "Yes. Yes we are."

Mitsuru smiled. '_These children... will go far. I just know it.'_ She didn't know it, but she looked impressed. "Very well. We will teach you and you will learn. No exceptions."

Nanako looked at Mitsuru with fire in her eyes, a fire that showed no signs of going out. "We know that very well."

Ken smiled as Akihiko grinned from behind Mitsuru.

Mitsuru put out her hand and offered it to Nanako. Nanako slowly accepted and shook it. Mitsuru shook it back and gave them the welcoming.

"Welcome to S.E.E.S."

* * *

"Welcome to S.E.E.S" Yes, that's right! Nanako and the rest of the gang are now the newest members of S.E.E.S! Of course, this will only be temporary, because I have bigger things in store for them! Read and Review!

NOTE: I'm am absolutely sure that I will have no yaoi or yuri in this fanfic. Don't ask me to, because I'll never write a story on yaoi! Never!


	6. Chapter 6 Tutelage

_July 25__th__ 2022_

Since ten years ago the inside of the TV world has been a lush, green paradise. Fountains flowed into river banks. The forests grew their trees near and far. Fields of green covered the landscape as the blue sky held up its dimly lit moon. Flowers of every kind bloomed, covering the green, lush fields. Fish were springing to life in the lake that connected every stream in and out of it. The winds were gentle as they brushed the trees and swayed the leaves. And a huge oak tree stood upon a small hill in the centre of the gigantic field, standing in all its glory. Yes, the TV world has never been more peaceful ever since the defeat of Izanami...

_BOOM!_

But it couldn't last forever.

A fiery cloud of smoke erupted from the forest as a black blur came out of the forest. The figure came to a halt with a screeching sound and Zephyrus came into view. Disappearing into thin air, Yuuta darted out of the forest from the same direction as his Persona did. Yuuta readied his sword and went into a battle stance.

_SKRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE! _

A piercing cry of a bird came from the forest. As Yuuta tried to get his breath back, he cursed his pursuer. "Dammit, can't this jerk take it easy on me?"

Red blur flew upwards from the treetops and it halted in the middle of the sky. An explosion of fire burst out as the figure spread out its arms and legs. The entity had a head shaped like a golden bird's head with a red jewel in its beak. With a set of gold wings attached to its shoulders and another set attached to both its arms and legs, it spread out its wings as the man with a blue baseball cap, a wooden katana in one hand and an Evoker in his other stood on its back. "Having fun yet... my apprentice?" he mocked with a smug grin.

Yuuta gave him a death glare before smashing the blue card in front of him with his own wooden sword. "One more round!"

"That's more like it!" Junpei yelled from above. He jumped off Trismegistus as his Persona faded and lifted his katana in the air with both hands, launching down to the ground. "Woohoo!"

As the training continued near the forest, Yukari watched them from the oak tree with a low wooden coffee table in front of her as she sat on the grass. Yukari sighed as the two idiots went head to head for what it seemed to be the thousandth time today. "These guys are getting along very well..."

"I'm not surprised." said a voice on the other side of the table. Fuuka chuckled as she watched the two fought their hearts out. "Those two have so much in common, they're so alike. Of course at first they were too much alike to be friends."

Yukari let out a laugh. "Ha ha! I'll say! Remember what happened yesterday? They were pretty much at insulting each other whenever they got the chance!"

Fuuka smiled before looking down on the table and a gem imbedded cube on it. Her face showed a slight sadness in her. "It wasn't easy getting everyone along at first though..."

Yukari looked at Fuuka for a moment before going back to looking at the valley. "I know..."

_Several hours earlier..._

"Are you kidding me?" Junpei exclaimed as he back-peddled hastily. "There's a freaking war for the galaxy and we're drafted into it?"

The adult S.E.E.S members were all standing in a wide circle in her room as the newest and youngest members were outside sitting on the chairs in the inn's lobby. Mitsuru had called all of S.E.E.S into her room to discuss the current events and the events to-be. Knowing that her friends had many questions on hand, she wanted to debrief them first. She thought that she would get through it swiftly and calmly.

Apparently it wasn't going to be that easy. "Iori, I know that this is sudden, but it all makes sense. The disappearance of the Persona users here, the sudden attack on the children and the fact that I've found more signals on the satellite than ever before. If we can't fight in this war, we'll be at the mercy of a crazed deity."

"That's the story so far..." Akihiko mumbled.

Aegis stepped forward. "But these children don't need to get involved in this. We can fight just fine with only the eight of us."

Mitsuru shook her. "This is more than we can handle with just the eight of us. You have also lost the ability of the Wild Card Aegis. As of that, the more of us there are in the fight, the better. Besides, I don't think these children will step down even if we try to force them."

Aegis didn't show it but she was building a slight anger. "They're only sixteen or fifteen Mitsuru-san. They are far too young for this."

"I'm sorry Aegis but I disagree." said Ken. "Most of us were only fifteen when we started using Personas. I was even younger. But look at us now. You guys are happy and nearing your thirties."

"That still doesn't make drafting children into a combat team right." Aegis snapped back. "And there're also your students. This is wrong and you know it Ken."

Mitsuru sighed. She had foreseen Aegis opposing to this. Mitsuru knew that Aegis would've never approved of children fighting, especially in wars. Not after what happened with Minato and Shinjiro.

Aegis continued with Yukari. "Yukari, surely you agree with me?"

Yukari looked at her roommate and friend and then she looked down on the ground. "Aegis, I also feel that this isn't right. But with so many things happening so fast I don't think this is for us to decide. I'm honestly not sure which side to take here."

Aegis turned away from Yukari, not wanting to force her. Regained her composure and looked Mitsuru in the eye. "...They are not coming. They don't need to get involved in this. They have a whole life ahead of them and the last thing I want to see is one of them having their life cut short. I don't want to see them die. Not like Shinjiro-san. Not like Minato..."

Fuuka, who was also not sure with whom to side with at this point, understood how Aegis felt. "Aegis..."

_Amagi Inn lobby_

Maiko paced back and forth within the lobby as the rest of her friends were patiently waiting on the spread out sofas. Yuuta was lazily sleeping while Miwa had the urge to kick him for his snoring. Reiji was also on a sofa and had his head down, his hands together and elbows on his knees. Nanako was sitting properly on the sofa nearest to Maiko. Concerned about what was troubling her friend, she turned to Maiko. "Maiko... what's wrong?"

Maiko stopped pacing. "...I don't like this. I want to know what they're up to."

"Maiko, you know Mitsuru-san told us to stay here until they come back."

Maiko's eyes darkened slightly. "And that's the problem. We're being treated like we're in a day-care. But we're a part of S.E.E.S now, right? Then we have a right to know what's going on." She stepped into the hallway. "I'm going to see what they're up to."

Nanako got up and walked to her. "Fine, but I'm coming too."

"That's fine." Maiko responded. "The more the merrier."

Nanako nodded and then she turned to Reiji and Miwa. "We'll be right back."

Before Reiji or Miwa could reply, Maiko and Nanako disappeared down the hall. "Damn, those two are quick..." Reiji muttered.

'_Snort!'_

Yuuta made a loud snore once again and Miwa covered her ears and shook her head. "Why didn't I go with them?" she asked out loud before elbowing Yuuta in the stomach.

"Oof!"

Nanako and Maiko made their way into the elevator and went to the top floor. Maiko looked up at the elevator ceiling and asked "Which room was it? I know that it was on the top floor..."

"Room 67." Nanako stated. "Ken-san told me the room number."

"Okay." said Maiko as she thought to herself, _'Ken-san? Why would he-?'_

_Ding!_

The elevator arrived at the top floor with a ring of a bell and interrupted Maiko's train of thought. The two girls stepped out and made their way to the east side of the building. Spotting room 67, Maiko stopped. "This is it."

She was about to knock but a voice came through the walls. "...not like Shinjiro-san...Not like Minato..."

'_Huh?'_ Maiko's brain racked when she heard Minato's name. _'Minato?'_

Nanako looked at the door and her brain recalled something. "Oh! I remember this room. Big Sis told me that this room recently had its walls redone and still needs more layers. Sound can get through these walls very easily-"

"Shush!" Maiko hissed.

Nanako jumped slightly. "Maiko?"

Maiko pushed her ear against the door. Inside the room the debate was still going on.

"Aegis, that's enough." Mitsuru finally spoke out. "The longer we wait the closer the deadline will be. These children want to fight and I understand their reasons. I can also see that they have a lot of potential and I know you can see it in them too."

"That doesn't justify the fact that they're going to be brought into a war." uttered Aegis. "Minato would've never agreed to this."

Maiko stayed fixed to the wall as she tried to find out more about what her dearest childhood friend had to do with this_. 'What's going on?'_

"You don't know that Aegis-"

"Don't tell me that I don't know what he would've wanted!" Aegis snapped at Mitsuru. "He was a kind man and he knew what it was like to lose something precious as a child! He was our leader and I'm going to respect what he would've wanted. He sacrificed his life for us and we owe to him that much!"

The white dog hiding in the corner suddenly came to the door in an offensive stance. "Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Akihiko came down to him. "What's wrong Junior?"

Aegis's eyes widened as she perceived something from her sixth sense. "Someone's listening."

With that, Mitsuru ran to the door and threw it open. In front of her room she saw Maiko quivering at the door and a confused Nanako a little further from the room.

"You two?" Mitsuru queried. "I thought I told you to-"

"So Minato was your leader?"

Everyone inside the room froze when Maiko made that statement. Maiko was standing but her head was down as they couldn't see her eyes. Junpei was the first to break silence, "Uh... yeah. He was our leader..."

"Then you mean to say," Maiko asked as she still shivered, "That Minato, the one who played with me at the shrine, he died because of your cause?"

The adults' eyes widened as she had just stated that she had recognition of their departed friend. Aegis went up to her. "You... you knew Minato?"

Maiko didn't answer. She stood silent as many thoughts ran through her head, spiralling all on the memory of Minato. Then she took action.

She sprinted to the elevator.

Nanako was taken off guard from the recent events and only noticed Maiko running a second later. "Maiko, wait!"

"M-Maiko?" Aegis stammered. Her mind played back of the times she had wondered around Iwatodai.

_Iwatodai, Naganaki Shrine, 13 years ago..._

_Aegis walked along the path to the shrine as she analysed the surrounding buildings. '_These buildings are adequately architected._' she thought to herself._

"_Wheee!"_

_Aegis's ears tuned into the sudden sound. '_A voice of a young human child. Most likely a female human._'_

_She walked up the stairs to the shrine as the voice had come from that direction. As she neared the top she halted and observed from the stairs. There she saw her protectee Minato pushing a little girl on a swing with a pink backpack on her back._

"_Yay!" the girl cried. "Hey Minato-kun, lets practice some more kung-fu after this!"_

_The blue haired Junior high school student gave out a sigh. "What?" he asked with a small grimace. "First of all, it's not exactly kung-fu. And second, aren't you tired yet?"_

"_Nope!" the girl cheerfully replied. "And you're going to stay with me until I do!"_

_Minato smiled and closed his eyes as he shook his head slightly from side to side in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'll stay Maito..."_

_The girl pouted as she knew he mispronounced her name on purpose. "It's Maiko!"_

_Minato chuckled. "Right, right. I'll get it next time..."_

"_Yeah, right!" Maiko stuck out her tongue and laughed soon afterward. "Hehehe!"_

_Back to July 24__th__..._

"She..." Aegis choked, "She was that girl from the shrine?"

The other adults looked back at her. Yukari was the most confused person in the room. "You know her?"

Aegis shook her head. "No, but Minato did. Minato played with this young girl at the shrine all those years ago. I knew that Minato had become important to that girl, but I never recognised her..."

Nanako raced after Maiko only to get around the corner to see the elevator door closing and on its way down. Nanako went back the room she was just at and she stood in front of them with pleading eyes. "What was that all about? Who was Minato?"

"W-we just told you." Junpei stuttered. "Minato was our leader..."

"I know that!" Nanako exclaimed. "But was he the same Minato that Maiko knew?"

Aegis went up to Nanako. "I think he is. Let's go find your friend before something happens."

Yukari followed. "I'll come too."

Nanako slowly nodded to both of them. Then the three of them went to the elevator around the other corner. "This way!" Nanako commanded, "There's another elevator on the other side! I know this place like the back of my hand!"

The three went out of sight as the remaining adults in the room remained silent. Fuuka then spoke up, "Shouldn't we go too Mitsuru sempai?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "Yukari and Aegis knew Minato the best. They should be able to explain to that girl what really happened. We've caused enough trouble already."

Ken sat down on the bed as he hung his head in shame. "Maiko..."

Akihiko sat down next to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Ken. It wasn't your fault. None of us knew that Maiko was close to Minato. We had no idea that Maiko even knew him..."

"We just made one of my students upset Akihiko." Ken moaned, "How can I not feel guilty for that?"

Junpei simply sat on the other side of him and patted him on the other shoulder. "That's just a sign that you're going to be a good and considerate teacher Ken."

Ken only sunk further. "Not good enough to stop my students from getting hurt..."

_Behind the Amagi Inn..._

Maiko stood behind the building of the Amagi Inn and stared at the residing sun. Her head was down and her eyes were about to burst with tears, but somehow they refused to come out. The feeling of betrayal and shock never left her. "Minato... why?"

"Maiko!"

Maiko's head looked up when she heard her name. Nanako, Aegis and Yukari were right behind her.

"H-how did you find me?"

Nanako huffed to get her breath back before answering. "Reiji saw you running out the back door when you ran out of the elevator." Nanako stood up straight after taking a deep breath. Then she came down to her friend. "Maiko... I'm sorry, I-"

Aegis put her hand on Nanako shoulder to stop her. "No, I should be the one apologising. I was the one who went on about Minato. I shouldn't have spoken about the dead."

Maiko didn't respond for a moment until she stood up while wiping away her tears. "H-how... how did Minato die?" she quietly asked.

Yukari and Aegis looked at each other in uncertainty. Yukari approached Maiko. "We'll tell you. Everything, okay?"

Maiko took a deep breath. "Okay." she replied.

_Several minutes later..._

"...When we defeated Erebus we realised that Minato became the Great Seal to keep Nyx away from humanity's wish for death. Ever since we escaped the Abyss of Time Yukari and I have tried to make the people of this world not wish for death in order to protect Minato. It hasn't been easy, but we want Minato to be safe. If the world not wanting death is what it takes to protect Minato, I'll do it no matter how long it takes. Even if I've lost the power of the Wild Card, I'll keep protecting him."

As Aegis finished explaining Maiko was in deep thought. She had her hand on her chin and her eyes looking down.

"Maiko-chan," Yukari called quietly. "I know it must've been hard for you when he died. I know exactly how it feels. But he died for all of us and I don't want to waste his sacrifice. He would've wanted me to be happy. And he probably wanted for you to be happy too."

Nobody moved or said anything as Maiko ran her thoughts on Minato's life. _'He must've been so scared to die...'_ Maiko closed her eyes and cleared her thoughts. "I guess I overreacted a bit before. I'm sorry."

Aegis stood in front of her. "There's no need to be sorry Maiko-chan. You don't have to fight in this war. Minato would've wanted you safe..."

Maiko shook her. "No, I'm still going."

Aegis wasn't content with Maiko's response. "But why? A war is not a game! You could- no, you will most certainly die in this! Minato would've never allowed you to-!"

"You're wrong."

Aegis stopped, confused with Maiko's sudden interruption. Nanako and Yukari were just as confused.

"...Minato sacrificed himself to save the world, right?" Maiko asked rhetorically. "He gave up his life so we could live. His friends, you and me. He saved us." Maiko looked up with determination. "But if he's keeping death from taking this world, then I know that it wasn't just his friends that he wanted to protect, he wanted to protect the entire world. If he gave up his life for that, then I won't let it go to waste!"

"Maiko..." Nanako whispered. She thought she had the same reasons that Maiko had to go to the war, but now she saw Maiko had a deeper reason now.

"If the galaxy falls into the hands of that madman..." Maiko turned her head down as her eyelids narrowed in emotional pain, "Then Minato would've died for nothing..."

Aegis's shoulders slumped. She didn't think of it that way. She had forgotten that Minato did indeed care for his friends, but he cared for the world just as much. _'What was I thinking? I'm such a...'_

Maiko went closer to Aegis. "Aegis-san."

Aegis snapped out of her thoughts and redirected her attention to Maiko again.

"I know that you cared for Minato the most." Maiko stated. "The way you tried to respect his will proved that much. But I'll fight for the galaxy, because that is what I believe is his will. And I respect his will because-"

Maiko stopped as she realised what she was about to say. She put her hands to her cheeks as she blushed and shook her head from side to side. _'Oh no! I almost let it out!'_

"Because what Maiko-chan?" Aegis questioned. "I thought you wanted to fight for Minato. Why is that?"

Maiko blushed even further. "Um... well, you see..."

Yukari's head tilted as she realised what Maiko was trying to say. _'Oh no. Don't tell me...'_

"...I-I wanted to marry him back when I left Iwatodai..."

Nanako froze in both slight shock and nostalgia. _'...Déjà vu.'_

"M-my feelings towards him aren't as strong as now, but I still feel... infatuated." After struggling to mutter out the last words, Maiko sealed her mouth shut.

Yukari shook her head as remembered the times Minato had unintentionally allured many other girls back in Gekkogan High School. Including herself. _'Even little girls were powerless to him huh?'_

Aegis, however, simply smiled. "I'm sorry Maiko, for questioning you like that." She nodded her head as she made her decision. "I thought I was honouring his wishes, but now that I've met you I've realised that I'm not the one who knows what he would've really wanted. If you really want to come with us, then you can."

Maiko looked up at the blonde woman who had accepted her. She put on a small smile. "Thank you Aegis-san."

Nanako was sighing in relief inwardly. She went up to Maiko and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Well now that that's settled how about we go back inside? The others are surely waiting for us."

"I'd say so." said Yukari. "I think Ken would probably be blaming himself for this. Let's head back."

"No point keeping the teacher waiting, I guess." stated Maiko as she shrugged. Nanako and Maiko looked at each other and giggled.

They walked back into the inn as Yukari followed. "Are you coming Aegis?"

"I'm coming." Aegis replied. She walked alongside Yukari as she watched the two young girls making their way back. _'I guess you were right Mitsuru-san, they do have potential.' _She turned to the sky._ 'Minato... you really did change people for the better. Did you know that?'_

_The present..._

"Stronger! More strength in those attacks!" Aegis ordered as she blocked Maiko's continuous assault of kicks on the grassy plains of the TV world. Aegis was in her battle form and no longer had her casual clothes on. The tubes connecting her limbs were moving tirelessly as she continued to block and defend in a disciplined martial arts style. "Alright! Try it now!"

Maiko jumped back and brought her card down before her. Smashing it, Otrera came and readied her bow. Maiko gave the order, "Twin shot!"

Her Persona fired her bow and the arrow split into two. The two arrows sped towards Aegis. Aegis assumed her summoning position. "Athena!"

A white cloaked woman with a Greek golden army helmet adorned on her head and spear in her hand come forth. The ring golden ring rotating around her with a huge shield shielding her from the front impacted with the arrows. The arrows bounced off, but not without pushing Athena back slightly.

Aegis assumed battle position again. "Again!"

Maiko charged at Aegis with a punch ready for her. "Hyah!" Aegis defended herself against Maiko's barrage of kicks and punches. Maiko executed her moves in a disciplined manner, which had developed after years of practice within and after Minato's tutelage.

From the hill Yukari watched Aegis trained Maiko. She picked up her cup of tea from the table and took a sip. "I'm glad things went well in the end." She turned her head to Fuuka. "Are you still trying to analyse the box Fuuka?"

On the other side of the table Fuuka nodded. "Uh huh. Until we know that it's completely safe to activate we have to be cautious. We're not sure what it does yet, but Juno and I will keep looking at it."

"I'm sure you'll finish soon Fuuka." Yukari complimented. "Your talent as a sensor managed to help us decide you would teach who."

"No, no." Fuuka shook her head in modesty. "I'm sure that Mitsuru sempai would've figured it out anyway." Fuuka looked back to yesterday and a small giggle left her mouth. "But not everything went so smoothly like right now..."

_Amagi Inn, July 24__th__, Nightfall..._

All of the Persona users of S.E.E.S were gathered in Yukari's room on the ground floor. Originally the plan was to gather in Mitsuru's room. But after the incident with Maiko, Mitsuru decided it was best to discuss Persona related businesses in a more... subtle room.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear all of that Maiko..." Ken said to Maiko in remorse.

"Ken-san it's alright." Maiko assured him. She felt that her teacher was overdoing it bit and she felt slightly embarrassed. Yuuta looked at her bemused and imagined her having a large sweatdrop appearing and dropping on the back of her head. Maiko tried to shake off her embarrassment. "I was the one who overreacted and ran away so I should be the one apologising."

"Well it's good to see that you are fine Shurei." Mitsuru stated. "I also apologise for any inconsideration we have given you. We did not realise you had such a connection with our former leader."

Maiko shrugged and grinned happily. "Fate works in mysterious ways."

Mitsuru gave her a brief chuckle. She knew exactly what she meant. She turned to the new S.E.E.S members. "Now that we are all assembled, Fuuka Yamagishi shall explain how the training regimen will be deployed for tomorrow. Yamagishi."

The green haired woman nodded and came to the front of the teenage crowd. "I'm Fuuka Yamagishi, S.E.E.S's support and analyser."

"Analyser?" Yuuta whispered to Miwa. "Isn't what your Persona can do Miwa?"

"Sort of..." Miwa answered him. "Though I'm not very good at it, Hippolyta is more of a battle type. Yamagishi-san must be very good at it-"

"Ahem." Nanako cleared her throat and glared at the two. Miwa and Yuuta quickly went silent with guilty looks on their faces.

Not noticing the small conversation, Fuuka continued. "My Persona is called Juno and her ability is to exploit the strengths, weaknesses and other abilities of other Personas or Shadows. I will be determining who will train every one of you."

"How exactly can you determine that Yamagishi-san?" Reiji asked. His brain was taking down every note of this as he wanted more knowledge of what Personas can do.

Fuuka closed her eyes and gently placed her hand over her chest where her heart should be. "All Personas come from us, our souls and our minds. I've noticed that all Personas give out a certain 'heartbeat', which I use to read data on Shadows and Personas. Every heartbeat of every Persona is like a wave and each different Persona has its own unique wavelength, or in other words heartbeat. Using Juno's power, I have read all of your Persona's heartbeat signatures while you were in this building."

'_She's definitely better me..._' thought Miwa.

"Woah..." Yuuta quietly let out. He had no idea that the woman in front of him could read his Persona from the top floor.

"Now that I've read all of your Personas accurately, I can compare you to Mitsuru sempai and the others. Any Persona with great similarity to each other can be taught be each other naturally and easily. Otherwise, those with distinct differences in their Personas are close to impossible to train."

Fuuka put her hands together in prayer and closed her eyes once more. "I'll start now."

In a flash of blue Juno appeared over Fuuka with her hands hovering above the others. Juno's right hand hovered over the teenagers as the left did the same with the adults. Junpei snorted with a small smile. "Gotta admit, this never gets old no matter how many times I see it."

Fuuka's eyes shot open. "I've got it!"

Juno disappeared and Fuuka put her hands down by her sides. "If you don't mind Mitsuru sempai, I'd like to read out the training pairings."

Mitsuru gave Fuuka the affirmative with nod. "Go on Yamagishi."

Fuuka nodded in thanks and turned back to the crowd. "The training will be done in pairs, one older Persona user and one of you guys. The pairings are..."

"Reiji Tenno with Akihiko sempai."

"Miwa Takahashi and Mitsuru sempai."

"Maiko Shurei and Aegis."

"Yuuta Minami and Junpei."

"Nanako Dojima and Ken."

Fuuka took a deep breath before continuing. "These pairings are the result of the similarity between Personas. Those who are paired are the most alike. I have confirmed that all of you are legible to be taught by those you have paired with. Any questions?"

The teenagers remained silent. Yuuta had cold sweat running down his neck. _'Wow, she wasted no time at all.'_

Yukari stepped forward with a confused look on her face. "Wait a second Fuuka, why am I not paired with anyone?"

Fuuka's head dropped down in slight shame and worry. "Oh! Um... well you see Yukari-chan, your Persona was very alike to Nanako-chan's, but Ken's was even more alike. I only paired up the two most similar Personas between us and the kids."

"Uh... y'know, we ain't kids." Reiji remarked.

Not hearing Reiji, Yukari shrugged. "Oh well. There were seven of us and five of them, so there I guess one or two of us were bound to be left out." She turned to Nanako and her friends and smiled. "You guys work hard okay? Cause Mitsuru sempai and the others are not going to take it easy on you."

Nanako sheepishly smiled back. "We know that."

"So I'm with you, huh?" Junpei asked as he jumped over to Yuuta. The two stared hard at each other before Junpei gave a bored look and pointed at Yuuta. "Is he really similar to me Fuuka-san? He seems a little... scrawny."

"Hey!" Yuuta retorted. "I don't see any muscles you, wise guy!"

"Why you little-!" Junpei scowled as he rolled up his jacket sleeve. "Just wait until I-!"

'_Plonk!'_

He stopped as something fell out of his jacket. On the ground was a small orange notebook. "Uh oh..."

Yuuta didn't waste time. He quickly picked up the notebook and scanned through the pages while running to the other side of the room. "What's this?" he sarcastically asked as he went through the book.

"G-give that back!" Junpei shouted. He ran for Yuuta but his target was too fast. Yuuta sidestepped him and jumped over the bed while dodging everyone else. Junpei tripped while trying to follow him over the bed and slammed face first into the floor. "Oof! ... This never happens to Spiderman..." he moaned.

"_Whistle_!" Yuuta whistled as he saw the contents of the notebook. Small photos were lined up in rows and columns, filling half the book. The pictures were different but the people in it were same in every one of them. In the photos were Junpei and a long red haired woman in Lolita clothes. In different photos the clothes differed but the woman was always wearing Lolita style clothes, just in different colours. "A photo booth album?" Yuuta asked to no one in particular. "Who's the chic you bribed to take these pictures with?"

"I said give that back you little runt!" Junpei got up and charged at him. Yuuta prepared to dart out of the room when suddenly Miwa garbed his ear.

"Ow! Ow! Quit it Miwa!"

"Heh, thanks kid!" Junpei snickered before taking back the album. Then he made an evil grin at Yuuta. "Now you're gonna- Ow!"

Mitsuru grabbed Junpei by the ear as well. "Iori! Enough childish games! This is an historic inn, not a gymnasium!"

Meanwhile Yuuta was getting his own lecture by Miwa. "How could you be so childish? Spilling out other people's hobbies and secrets!"

The two women pointed at the other party. "Apologise." They ordered in unison.

The two men who had just gotten lectured pointed at each other. "He started-!"

"We don't care." The women spoke again in unison as they looked down on their prey with fiery anger, which to others was displayed by their fiery aura. The two men cowered and tried to back away.

"Lively, aren't they?" Reiji asked to the silver haired officer.

"Just like old times..." Akihiko sighed with a nostalgic smile.

Nanako quietly walked to Ken while avoiding the chaos. "So we're together huh?" she asked with a smile.

Ken smiled back. "I guess so. But remember that I won't go easy on you because you're my student. In fact, that's more of a reason why I should train you harder."

"I expect nothing less from my teacher." Nanako stated. Then she continued in a teasing tone, "If I find your teachings aren't up to my standards, I'll switch to Yukari-san."

"H-hey..." Ken sighed. For a second he actually was afraid she was telling the truth.

Aegis had already joined Maiko. "I'll do my very best to teach you all I know about Personas Maiko-chan."

Maiko nodded. "I promise to train hard in return Aegis-san."

As the noise went through the room Fuuka walked over to the bed where Koromaru Junior was sleeping neatly curled up. She smiled gently as she ruffled his fur and looked back at her friends. "It's all going to fine..." she whispered.

"H-hey Mitsuru sempai!" Junpei stuttered. His brain rattled for an idea to save his hide. He changed the subject. "W-where are we gonna teach these kids?"

Before Mitsuru could deliver her judgement she stopped at Junpei's statement. "...I hadn't really thought of it."

Akihiko couldn't hold back his amusement. "Pff! You mean Ice Maiden Mitsuru Kirijo got herself caught up in the moment? Ha ha-" He stopped laughing as Mitsuru threw him a dark glare. "Ah... never mind."

Nanako stepped in. "Oh, if it's about where we need to train then I know the perfect place..."

_The present_

A single crystal clear river of the TV world came to a standstill as its waters froze in clear ice. The ice continued to freeze along the river before coming to a stop at the river bend. Hovering above the ice was Hippolyta with her whip unravelled and Miwa standing nearby on the riverside. Miwa turned to the red haired woman behind. "There!" Miwa shout enthusiastically, "That's the as far as my bufu can go."

"That's quite impressive for a beginner. You seem to very adept when it comes to magic." Mitsuru complimented her. She then took out her Evoker and fired at her skull. With a shattering sound Artemisia came before them and drifted to Mitsuru's side. "Now let's try to improve your magical potential."

"How long will we do that?" Miwa asked her teacher.

Mitsuru simply waved her hand and shouted "Bufudyne!"

Artemisia responded to her master's call and swung her whip. Ice formed from her whip and Artemisia flung the ice over into another river. As the ice contacted the water more ice quickly froze the river. But it didn't stop there. In almost an instant the ice had spread and froze into the other rivers and the lake. The fish had no chance as they froze instantly. The rocks near the riverside were getting white patches of snow and frost on them. The entire lake and the rivers connecting to it had been turned to ice within a second. Mitsuru put away her Evoker and made a smirk. Her hand gestured to the new icerink before them. "Until you can do that much."

Miwa didn't answer, her tongue was too afraid to move. Her eyes were set on the lake that was there only a few seconds ago. _'This could take a while...'_

_BOOM!_

Mitsuru and Miwa twirled their heads at the sudden explosion at the lake. Yuuta was relentlessly attacking Junpei with a wooden kendo sword as Junpei kept dodging. Yuuta stepped back and crushed his card. "Go on Zephyrus! Kill Rush!"

The black rider of the wind came to his side and with a twist of its handlebars the motorcycle roared to life. Zephyrus charged at Junpei at full speed.

"Heh, it's on!" Junpei roared as he fired his own Evoker. Trismegistus came in a blue flash. "Don't worry, I'll keep it small. Agidyne!"

Trismegistus stretched its golden wings and a gigantic fire ball formed as it flew towards Yuuta.

"That's not small at all!" Yuuta exclaimed. Deciding that the fire ball was too big to take on, he swung his arm at Zephyrus and his Persona withdrew its attack. Yuuta ran away from the fire ball. "If that thing hits me I'm gonna be- Woah!"

Yuuta had stepped on what was supposed to be the lake, but instead his foot slipped on the newly formed ice and he fell flat on the face as he slid on the ice. _WHAM! "_OOOOWWW! What the hell-?"

Clutching his bleeding nose Yuuta spotted the fireball which was still sailing towards him. "Oh shi-!"

BOOM!

The fireball impacted with the ice in front of Yuuta. In an instant the fireball had melted the ice back into lukewarm water in the entire lake and the majority of the rivers. Of course, the sudden impact and shockwave of the explosion created a giant wave in lake.

Taking Yuuta along for the ride. "Waaahhhh!" he cried before getting wash up onto the shore. The rest of the wave crashed onto the mainland.

Junpei hurriedly ran to the other side of the lake to see a drenched Yuuta face down on the ground. "H-hey kid... Yuuta buddy?" He anxiously mumbled. "Say something..." Junpei turned around and clenched his head in stress. "Oh dear lord! What have I done?"

"...H..."

Junpei jumped to his side. "Yeah kid? What is it?"

"...H-hate you..."

Junpei sighed in relief. Then he jumped up with a anxious grin. "Eh heh heh... well it looks like training exercise number 5 'The blow away survival' was a complete success!"

"Bullshit!" Yuuta shouted back at him after getting up as he caught his breath. "'Success' my ass! You nearly killed me!"

"Yuuta..."

Yuuta and Junpei's hearts skipped a beat as they heard an icy voice calling Yuuta's name. They turned to see Mitsuru and Miwa with their arms crossed.

And their clothes and hair were soaking wet. They weren't happy, not in the slightest.

"Oh shit! Mitsuru sempai!" Junpei exclaimed as he back-peddled.

"W-wait Miwa!" Yuuta cried as he waved both his hands at her in panic. He had to try to calm her down before she went to the dark side. "I can explain!"

"Psst! Yuuta!" Junpei whispered.

"W-what?" Yuuta whispered back.

"New training exercise," Junpei replied with fear in his voice. "It's called..."

"Execution!" Mitsuru shouted.

"Run for your life!" Junpei screamed out the name of his latest 'training exercise' as he quickly brought Yuuta up on his feet and both of them ran from the two angered mistresses.

"You're not getting away! Hippolyta!"

"Nanako! HELP!"

_Somewhere nearby..._

Nanako stopped walking as she looked up at the sky.

"Nanako?" Ken asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"...did you hear something Ken-san?"

Ken shook his head with a puzzled look on his face. "Um... no I didn't."

Nanako shrugged off her strange feeling. "Okay then. Let's move on."

Ken gave her a nod. "Alright then. From what you've shown me so far, your Persona has a good hold on physical skills and excels in light attacks." He rubbed his hands together. "I can help you in both departments."

He pulled out his Evoker. "Do you know the major drawback of hama attacks?"

Nanako nodded. "They're really easy to evade."

"That's right." Ken confirmed her with a smile. "When a light or darkness attack hits your opponent it can knock them out instantly. But from what you've told me nowadays it does massive light or darkness attributed damage. Either way, with such huge advantages, light and darkness have a huge disadvantage to counter-act their advantage. They're really unreliable to hit your enemies. So in order to not be hindered with such a huge advantage..."

He pulled the trigger of his Evoker with it aiming at his head and Kala-Nemi appeared and rolled its robotic arms. A hamaon attack appeared in the field in front of them, but it didn't flash in attack just yet. The circle grew bigger by half a metre before flashing in attack. "You just have to make the attack range bigger. Try it Nanako, use hama and then hold the attack. Use your mind to push the energy of the attack into a wider range."

"Alright." Nanako replied. She brought the card down before her. "Hama!"

Crushing the card her Persona Ariel came to her and lifted her scales. A circle of light shone on the ground. _'Hold it...'_ Nanako intensely ordered herself, _'Then expand it...'_

The circle of light on the ground grew larger. It steadily expanded about a few inches before flashing in brilliant light.

"Good job." said Ken. "That was larger than I had expected from you."

"_Huff! Huff!_" Nanako tried to catch her breath. "T-that took more out of me than usual..."

Ken approached her and held her up. "Expanding hama attacks can do that. Remember, it's better to summon a barrage of hama attacks than using a larger one. Only use the larger ones if you want to get a better chance of hitting your opponent."

"Then why..."

Ken again put on a puzzled look as Nanako began to speak.

"...didn't you tell me that before?"

Ken wasn't sure how to answer that. "Uh... well I-"

Nanako giggled. "Hehehe. Guess you need more practice at teaching huh?"

"Hey..." Ken moaned. He was about to retort before realising that Nanako would win anyway and he would just feel even more embarrassed. "Never mind..."

"_Hello?"_ Fuuka's voice sounded in their heads. "_Can you all here me Ken?"_

"Loud and clear Fuuka." Ken replied.

"_Oh, good. Come back to the oak tree with Nanako. You two must be starving by now. Yukari-chan and I made you all lunch."_

"Thanks Fuuka." Ken replied back. "We'll see you there."

After a small click in their heads Ken turned to Nanako. "We can continue later Nanako. We don't want to miss out on Fuuka's lunch! I heard her cooking's great!" Ken rubbed the back of his head. "Of course, that was after she used our leader Minato as cooking crash test dummy..."

'_Reminds me of Big Sis Yukiko...'_ Nanako pondered. She put a bright smile. "Okay Ken-san! We can continue helping you with your teaching flaws after lunch!"

"Hey..." Ken moaned again. "I'm supposed to be the one teaching you..."

* * *

And cut! Sixth chapter is here! Right now the new generation of Persona users are taming their powers with their new mentors. But what mystery does the box given by the mysterious Zatch hold? Keep reading to find out! Read and Review please!


	7. Chapter 7 Family

Delicious and eye-catching plates of sushi and onigiri were resting on several square woollen rugs on the grassy ground near the oak tree of the TV world. Yukari and Fuuka stood patiently by the oak tree as they looked out for their friends.

"Wow..." Yukari murmured as she gazed at the amount of sushi. "I can't believe we managed to make all of this in one night..."

"It was all worth it Yukari-chan." Fuuka assured her. "I couldn't have done it without your help."

Yukari shook her head with a smile of modesty. "Oh Fuuka, you're giving me too much credit. You did almost all the sushi here. All I did was wrapping up the onigiri..."

"Hey there!"

Yukari and Fuuka twirled to see Nanako and Ken jogging their way. Nanako was waving her hand in the air in greeting. "It looks like we're the first ones here!"

"Nanako-chan! Ken-kun!" Yukari cheerfully shouted back. "Have you seen the others?"

Ken shook his head as he stopped at the oak tree. "I didn't see anybody else on the way."

"Oh!" Fuuka exclaimed. "There's Mitsuru senpai and Junpei."

Everyone turned to see four people walking up the hill. Mitsuru was as elegant as usual as she walked up with her arms crossed as she always did. Miwa was walking behind. Their clothes were dry. Junpei and Yuuta, on the other hand, had their clothes dripping out drops of water as they were shivering. Junpei had a small icicle hanging from his nose as Yuuta had wrapped his own arms around himself. When Mitsuru had made her way to the other crowd she greeted "Afternoon everyone."

Curious, Nanako slipped past the adults and went up to Yuuta. "What happened to you and Junpei-san?"

"I-I-I don't k-know..." Yuuta stuttered. He looked away and sneezed away from the oak tree. "_'Achoo!'_ I-I... remember running away from Miwa and Mitsuru-san after Junpei soaked them during our training. Then the next thing I know, I was thawing out of a block of ice with Miwa demanding Junpei and I to use our Personas to dry them..."

"Shut up." Junpei growled at him. "She doesn't need to know that."

Yuuta only narrowed his eyes at his teacher. "What? It was your fault that we got into this mess..."

Nanako chuckled inwardly. _'Miwa and her whims...'_ Nanako looked left and right after dismissing her thoughts. "Have you guys seen Maiko and Reiji?"

Then she heard a familiar voice beside her ear, "I'm over here."

Nanako jumped. "Kya!"

"Oh relax, it's me." Maiko stepped into Nanako's view before Nanako had the chance to turn around. "I just got back from training with Aegis-sama."

"D-don't do that..." Nanako huffed out.

Maiko stuck her tongue but not in a rude way, more of an apologetic way. "Sorry Nanako. I didn't think you were the type to get easily scared."

Yuuta tapped Maiko on the shoulder. "You got lucky Maiko. Nanako's usually unafraid at most times. We went through a haunted house at the city theme park last year. Miwa was shaking her boots while Nanako just sailed through admiring all the special effects. She's just easier to scare around friends in a carefree environment."

Miwa gave Yuuta a poisonous glare. "You don't need to tell her that Yuuta. Or should I tell Maiko about where you were while we went through the haunted house?"

Yuuta gulped and backed away. Pissing off Miwa a second time in a day meant a fate worse than death.

Aegis came up the hill and waved to Yukari and Fuuka. "Good afternoon everyone."

"Oh! There you are Aegis." said Fuuka. "How did Maiko-chan's training go?"

"It's going very well Fuuka." Aegis stated with a smile. "She's a brilliant martial artist already and her control of her Persona is becoming more fluent by the hour. She is very talented as a Persona user."

Maiko rubbed the back of her head with a flushed face. "Oh stop Aegis, you're giving too much credit."

Junpei noticed a burnt smell and looked around sniffing. "_'Sniff!' _Hey, is something burning?"

Fuuka and Yukari looked at each other. "We didn't bring a portable cooker with us... did we Yukari?" asked Fuuka. She was worried that her cooking might be responsible for the burning smell.

Yukari shook her head. "No. At least I don't think so-"

"Hey guys."

Everyone turned to see Reiji and Akihiko walking up the hill. At least, they thought it was Reiji and Akihiko. They couldn't necessarily tell because the two of them were singed brownish black all over and their shoulders were slightly smoking.

"Whoa!" Junpei jumped at the realisation of their current appearance, "What happened to you guys? Did you blow up a gas station or something?"

"Not necessarily..." Reiji mumbled as he sat down on the grass with his legs crossed. "Anyways, I'm starving."

Fuuka shook off her surprise and gave off a bright smile. "Oh good. I hope everyone likes sushi. You five can help yourselves first."

"Woo! Chow down!" Yuuta practically leapt next to the nearest mat with sushi, grabbed his plate and started filling it.

Mitsuru confronted Akihiko as he brushed ash off his shoulder. "Alright Akihiko, what happened?"

"A small accident." Akihiko murmured. "It was partially my fault as well. It's a long story."

Mitsuru put on a small smile. "I would like to hear about it."

Akihiko sighed. "Perfect."

_Later on..._

Yuuta and Junpei were spread out on the grass on their backs as they watched the clouds go by.

"Whew! I'm stuffed." Yuuta hooted.

"Same here..." Junpei mumbled. He turned over to his side and spotted plate with only a yellow sea urchin on it. "Sweet! Sea urchin! I guess one more bite can't hurt..."

He reached out for the plate when Yuuta suddenly got up at the mention of the word 'sea urchin' and pounced for it. "Thanks!"

"H-hey! Wait! That's mine!" Junpei shouted at Yuuta as he got up and ran after him.

"Too late!" Yuuta snickered as he happily took a bite out of the sea urchin. He dashed around the oak tree as Junpei madly pursued him.

"Give that back you son of a-!"

As the Junpei and Yuuta went on running away and chasing each other, Reiji and Akihiko were washing their faces by the stream beside the hill. Reiji looked up and narrowed his eyes at the two running idiots. "Was it always this noisy when you were in high school Akihiko-san?"

Akihiko gave a small chuckle at the question. "Heh, more or less." He picked up his police jacket and swung over his shoulder. "I should probably see how Fuuka's doing with that box you got. Keep an eye on the others."

"Sure thing, sensei."

Akihiko stopped for a moment. _'Sensei, huh? _Unknown to him, Akihiko had a small smile on his face. He continued walking.

Reiji got up from the stream and was about to head back up the hill when...

"It's nice to have such a good sensei isn't it?"

Reiji flinched and slowly turned to see Nanako and Miwa behind a large boulder right next to him. Nanako was just bluntly watching as Miwa was snickering.

"Y-you heard that?" Reiji stuttered.

"Yep!" Miwa answered with a devilish grin. "Seems like you're getting along with Akihiko-san already."

Reiji shook his head. "Well aren't you getting along with your sensei? Or are you saying it's unnatural to get along with a teacher?"

"Not at all." Miwa replied. "It's just that I never imagined you to be the type to be so social and friendly."

"I don't know about 'social'..." Reiji muttered out, "But I ain't no a street punk if that's what you're getting at..."

Nanako put on a smile. "We know that Reiji. Miwa's just messing with you."

The three laughed. In the cheerful atmosphere the three decided to lie on the grass before training started again. Miwa sighed as she gazed up at the sky. "This place is beautiful. Too bad we had to mess it up though..."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Nanako said cheerfully. She pointed out to the fields. "Look." she instructed.

Miwa and Reiji gazed upon the fields and saw the burnt patches of Junpei and Yuuta's training area steadily being covered by fresh grass. The rivers that were left frozen had quickly melted back into their flowing nature. The trees that had been either burned or knocked down were being overgrown by new ones. The land was healing at an astounding rate.

Nanako gently smiled. "Whenever Big Bro or the others came in here and used their Personas, the land would return to normal in a matter of minutes. It's this world's gift. It is the reflection of the hearts of man."

"Wow..." Miwa stared in awe. The miraculous recovery of the fields had caught her mind like a fish on a hook. "This place is amazing."

"The hearts of man, huh?" Reiji pondered out loud. "Seems a little too bright. I mean, not every human has a heart of joy, right?"

Nanako nodded. "I guess. At the same time, I think there's something else that keeps this place together. Something..." She lifted her head to the sky. "Or someone..."

"Guys!"

The three turned to see Maiko running towards. Maiko stopped halfway and yelled "Fuuka-san finally said it was okay to use that box now! I think you need to see this!"

Nanako, Reiji and Miwa nodded at each other. "Let's go." Nanako ordered before the three ran to the other side of the hill.

They arrived to see everyone gathered around the wooden table. While everyone else was standing up, Fuuka was kneeling beside the table holding the small box Nanako obtained in their last endeavour. Fuuka looked up to see Nanako. "Ah, Nanako-chan. You're just in time. I wouldn't have wanted to open this without you."

"Thanks Fuuka-san." Nanako said with a smile. The smile disappeared as she stared at the box. "Have you figured out what this does?"

"That's the problem." Fuuka muttered with disappointment her voice. "Juno and I have analysed this cube from every angle, and yet the contents and purpose are still a mystery to me. However, I think it should be safe to activate."

Yuuta swallowed. "_'Gulp!'_ Let's hope it's not a bomb or anything..."

"Fuuka-san." called Maiko.

"Yes Maiko-chan?"

"Could you let Nanako open it?"

Everyone looked at her in question. Maiko continued, "Well, the box was given to Nanako. So I think whoever Zatch is wanted Nanako to open it."

Mitsuru shook her head. "I'm not sure about this Shurei. We don't know what this cube can do and the fact that someone from the enemy gave you this cube is highly suspicious."

"No, I'll open it." announced Nanako. Mitsuru eyed her with questioning look. Nanako stepped forward. "Zatch may be following that psycho Zorn, but I don't think Zatch is on completely good terms with him. And if he didn't stop Slaze when he did," She looked back at the moment Slaze was about to break the card embedded on his arm, "I don't think we would be alive today." She held her hand out to Fuuka. "I think we can trust him. So I'll open it."

Akihiko half-smiled and whispered to Ken, "That girl's a strong one. She reminds me a lot of Minato's resolve."

Ken replied with a small smile "Funny, I was thinking the same thing..."

Mitsuru eventually nodded. She didn't have much of a choice. "Alright Dojima-san. You may open it."

Nanako nodded back and turned to Fuuka. "Fuuka-san, how do I open this?"

"It's more like activating than opening Nanako-chan." explained Fuuka as she handed over the cube. She pointed to the blue gem embedded on one of the cube's sides. "Just press this and whatever is inside should come out. At least, in theory..."

Nanako held the box in her hands as she could feel the suspense from everyone. She took deep breathes and hovered her right thumb over the gem. Miwa, Yuuta, Maiko and Reiji saw her nervousness and gathered around her. Yuuta came to her left. "Don't worry Nanako. We got your back."

Nanako looked at her four friends and calmed down. "Thanks guys..." She placed her thumb on the gem and gave it a push. The gem slid into the box and white light began to emit from it. In a flash the box was no longer in Nanako's hand. Several more cubes identical to the first had appeared in the air in front of Nanako before they dropped to the ground. Falling with them was a stack of old paper and an amulet in the shape of a castle door with a holy cross in the middle.

"W-what?" Nanako asked herself bewildered. She looked down on the boxes and spotted the amulet. She picked it up and gazed at its gate like shape.

Yuuta just stared at the boxes on the ground. "More of them? Are we being punked?"

"I don't think so." Maiko muttered as she picked up the pile of manuscripts off the ground. She scanned through the first page and her expression grew slightly grim. "Guys, I think you should see this."

Mitsuru held out her hand. "Let me read it."

Maiko handed the red haired woman the sheets of paper. Mitsuru read it out loud. "To Nanako Dojima. By the time you're reading this you should have already have met other Persona users from an older generation. I apologise for not staying longer to explain myself, but I had my reasons to leave. This cube I have given you and its contents will surely help you throughout your journey. I have written information about almost everything you need to know about what you're going up against on these manuscripts. I hope they will help. Signed Zatch."

She flipped over the page and her eyes widened. "It seems this Zatch is a diligent writer. I've never seen such detailed reports and diagrams..."

Akihiko walked over and took a look at the pages. His eyes also widened with impression. "It seems he didn't want us to miss a thing."

Mitsuru continued to read through the document until her eyes caught something. "...This may be troublesome."

Nanako's head tilted slightly. "What's troublesome?"

"This." Mitsuru held the documents in front of everyone and pointed to the bottom of the second page. "The date of departure for the Tourney, it's the 27th."

Yukari stiffened. "T-that's the day after tomorrow! They're going to come after us then? We don't have enough time to train!"

Reiji didn't like that fact. "W-what are we supposed to do? We can't get stronger in such little time!"

"Calm down everyone." Mitsuru soothed. She didn't like it when order fell into panic. "The documents say that once we get to our destination training shouldn't be a problem. What does concern me is," She looked further down the page, "The fact that the Tourney will be held on Gerra."

"Gerra?" Junpei looked at her with confusion. "Uh, Mitsuru senpai? I didn't pick geography as a major subject, so could you explain where the hell on Earth is Gerra?"

"That's what is troubling Iori." Mitsuru replied with her eyes narrowed on the papers. "This says that Gerra... is in another galaxy."

Silence reigned for a few seconds before the outburst of "WHAT!"

Mitsuru sighed. "It's written that on the 27th we must gather in one place in order for the Eternate who we will be representing to meet us. Then we will be sent to Gerra to fight."

The silence returned as everyone's faces grew grim. With so little time to prepare, how on earth were they going to be strong enough tho face an entire army?

Nanako shook her head as the thought of Souji ran through her head. "Fine. The deadline is the 27th. We'll be there."

Ken turned to her in surprise. "N-Nanako, I don't we'll be able to train with the time we-"

"It's not about the training Ken-san." Nanako stated. Everyone gave her another confused look. "Zatch wrote that training wouldn't be a problem when we get there, right? Then I suggest is that we prepare for departure. If we panic over something like 'training', then we won't stand a chance against Zorn." She took out the photo of her with Souji and her friends. "And we won't be able to save Big Bro and the others..."

Miwa nodded and put her hand on Nanako's shoulder. "You're absolutely right Nanako. We can train when we get there, but for now we can settle things before we go."

Yuuta sweat-dropped. "That's exactly what she just said Miwa."

Miwa flustered. "I-I know that!"

Mitsuru and Akihiko looked at each other and smiled as Nanako's resolve had reached them too. Mitsuru turned back to everyone else. "Alright Dojima-san. If you think that this is the appropriate approach, then I'll agree. As of that, I'll appoint you field leader of S.E.E.S's junior squad."

Nanako stepped back in surprise. "M-me?"

"It makes sense." Reiji added before Nanako could say anything else. "So far as I've seen, you've the best qualities of a leader Nanako. If we had to nominate a leader, I'd pick you as first preference."

Maiko smiled brightly at Nanako. "I second that. I think I can feel a little easier knowing you'll be leading us Nanako."

Nanako took a minute to let it sink in before accepting her new role. "Well... alright. I'll be S.E.E.S's junior squad leader."

"I don't like the sound of 'junior'..." Yuuta mumbled.

Mitsuru gave Nanako the affirmative nod. "Now that that's settled, I suggest that I should explain what the cubes are for." She went down and picked up one of the cubes and took a look at the manuscript. "According to this, Gerra and Earth are similar in many ways. Humans are present on Gerra, about four billion to be exact, and there is a vast commonality in Gerra's and Earth's species of animals. However, one of the major differences between our two planets is technology. As Earth uses many machines and electricity to power our technology, Gerra on the other hand uses artefacts and Personas."

"Personas?" Aegis noted at the fact with a puzzled look. "Does the human population on Gerra have more Personas than Earth's?"

Mitsuru narrowed her eyes on the manuscript, carefully reading the information. "According to this, one in five people have Personas on Gerra, a far bigger number than Earth's Persona users. Those who use Personas on Gerra are considered important to Gerra's civilisation development. But," Mitsuru gestured to the cube in her hand, "I'm more fascinated in these 'artefacts'."

Out of curiosity, Yuuta bent down and plucked another cube off the ground. "Artefacts? These things?"

"Apparently they're one of the many types of artefacts that the Eternates granted to Gerra." Mitsuru continued. "Artefacts have particular functions and uses that can be considered divination."

"You mean like magic?" Fuuka asked. Unknown to her, Junpei and Yuuta had starry looks in their eyes. "Magic?" the two asked in unison.

"Settle down you two." Yukari sighed as she rolled her eyes. Living with one mentally immature friend for one year already brought her enough headaches.

Mitsuru went one as she also rolled her eyes. "I guess at one point of view, yes, it would be considered magic. The Eternates granted these artefacts their powers to ease the lives of planets that haven't developed modern technology as smoothly as others. This cube," She held it up in her hand, "Is a container called a Pisyx. The gem is the trigger that initiates it's 'contain' and 'release' mode."

Ken and Akihiko remembered their fight with Sabina the masked nun. Ken stepped forward. "I think I've seen how it works. Akihiko and I fought that nun who was with Zatch. She had a box just like these. She pressed the gem and it turned into a weapon."

Akihiko nodded as he looked back at the battle. "When she escaped, we didn't find her weapon but we did see her retrieve the same box. I think the box was holding the weapon."

"So these small boxes are like compressing containers?" Nanako asked with her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I think that's safe to assume." Ken replied.

"The instructions are written here." Mitsuru commented. "According to this, you have to place the box on the object that you want compacted and stored." Without anybody looking, Yuuta was just doing that with his real sword. Mitsuru went on with instructions. "Then compress the gem for three seconds." Yuuta did just that.

The box on his katana flashed for a split second and had disappeared from Yuuta's sight. But by then everyone was eyeing him suspiciously. "Uh..." he tried to explain his actions, "I thought I would give it a shot."

Mitsuru shook her head. "I guess this will make it convenient for a demonstration. Minami," she held out her hand, "The pisyx, please."

Yuuta sheepishly handed it over. Mitsuru continued. "To use the item stored in the pisyx, press the gem once." She pressed the gem and in another flash the box was gone and Mitsuru was holding the hilt of Yuuta's sword.

"Whoa..." Junpei murmured.

"That's exactly how that nun did it." Akihiko inputted.

"Further more," Mitsuru carried on, "To separate the box and the item, revert it to pisyx form by mental commands," she paused to give the thought of reverting to box form to the sword. The sword flashed and the small box was in its place once again. "Then twist the gem either clockwise or anti-clockwise ninety degrees and push." She did that as she had read out the instructions and the box flashed. The sword was once again in Mitsuru's hand as the box fell down to the ground. "As simple as that."

Nanako stood silently and bewildered. "Amazing..."

"This is one of the many artefacts on Gerra, but unfortunately we only have these pisyxes."

Nanako held up the amulet she picked up. "What about this?"

Mitsuru frowned and ran through the manuscripts. "Strange, there isn't any mention of that particular artefact anywhere in here. I'm most certain that what you have is an artefact Dojima, but I'm afraid we can't use it until we know how to."

Nanako nodded. "That's fine. We'll figure it out when we get there."

"Very well." Mitsuru agreed. "Now children," She went to the table and grabbed her black leather Prada bag. She took out five sheets of blue paper. "I'll need your guardians to sign these."

The five junior members of S.E.E.S looked at Mitsuru with question marks hanging above their heads.

_July 26__th__, Yasogami high school, outside the principal's office..._

Ken, Junpei and Mitsuru walked out of the principal's office with Nanako and Yuuta waiting for them. Yuuta had an excited look on his face. "So how did it go?"

Ken shrugged. "Not well at first. The principal didn't like the idea of the Kirijo Group borrowing his students and a teacher for as long as we wanted for an educational experiment. But then..."

"That's when Mitsuru senpai came in." Junpei continued with a smug grin. "She pretty much smoothed it out by offering the school a big sack of cash."

"Ignoring Iori's exaggeration," Mitsuru began, "I did negotiate with a large sum of funds for the school. The principal has given you permission to leave school for an extended length of time for the Kirijo Group's 'education research'. Now we won't have to worry about your school investigating you five for not attending school while we're at war."

Yuuta's shoulders sagged as he sweat-dropped. "Leave it to the head of the Kirijo Group to come up with such an efficient plan..."

Nanako thankfully bowed to Mitsuru. "Thank you so much Mitsuru-san."

"There's no need to thank me." Mitsuru assured Nanako. "I know how hard it is to fight against Shadows and go on with school life at the time. All we need now are the permission slips signed by your guardians to show the principal. The permission slips should also explain to your guardians that you will be on this 'experiment', with the exception of your father Dojima-san, but we need your father to sign for the principal to take notice."

Nanako and Yuuta looked at each other and grinned. Nanako turned back to Mitsuru and handed her the five sheets of blue paper they were given the other day. "Already done Mitsuru-san."

"Excellent. Now I'd advise you use the rest of the day preparing for tomorrow's departure. We might not make it back so I also recommend that you spend time with your families-"

But Nanako and Yuuta weren't listening. "Call the others Yuuta, we better start packing!"

Yuuta brought out his cell phone as the two of them ran down the hall. "Already on it!"

"Wait you two!" Mitsuru called after them. "This might be the last you'll see-"

Ken grabbed Mitsuru's shoulder to silence her as Nanako and Yuuta down the stairs. "Don't bother Mitsuru." He pictured the look on Nanako's face when they handed the permission slips in. He remembered her small smile but he didn't miss the trembling of her hand. "I'm pretty sure they know that this might the last time they'll see their families. Just give them some space."

Mitsuru looked at Ken with a hint of impression. He really had grown up. "Alright Amada. I'll take your word for it."

Junpei whispered to Ken with the back of his hand next to his mouth. "Weren't you supposed to tell them that if they come back they have to hand in essays on philosophy and World War II to the principal?"

Ken sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of his head. "...I think it slipped my mind."

_Minami residence_

Yuuta was in his room stuffing his backpack as his mother was cooking. "I'll take one of these and one of these and one of those..."

"Yuuta?"

Yuuta turned to his door to see his mother eyeing him from the opening. "I know you're going on a big trip, but I don't think you'll need all of your Featherman figurines."

Yuuta looked at his small backpack and the Featherman R action figures that were either stuffed in or hanging on the bag. He hadn't noticed the overload. "Whoops."

Eri Minami chuckled. "You just love those don't you?"

Yuuta's face flushed. "Y-yeah. I know it's kinda childish, but I can't get enough of Featherman R..."

"I know Yuuta. Ever since I gave you your first Featherman R action figure, you haven't given up collecting them."

Yuuta smiled at his step-mother. "I bet it was Souji-san who told you to get me one, right?"

Eri didn't look him in the eye as he hit the mark. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Heh heh heh." When Yuuta finished laughing he went over to his mother by the door. "That's okay mom. Don't tell Nanako but I also thought of Souji like a big brother too."

"I know. I could see that you admired him back in the day-care. You look up to him a lot now."

"I always will look up to him. After all, if it weren't for him I wouldn't be calling you my mother."

Eri sat down on Yuuta's bed. "True. That man changed us for the better, didn't he?" She looked at Yuuta for a while before walking up to him and hugging him.

"M-Ma!" Yuuta sputtered.

"I don't know why but," She tightened her grip slightly, "I have the feeling that you'll be going somewhere far away..."

If only she knew. Yuuta rubbed the back of his head. "W-well, I'll be in Iwatodai, so of course I'll be a little far." He lied, but only to stick to the plan and to not hurt her. He eventually hugged back. "But even though you're not the one gave birth to me, you'll always be my mom."

Eri sniffed. She didn't realise that she was crying. Breaking away from her step-son, she wiped away the adjacent tear rolling down her face. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. You do your best one the trip, okay?"

Yuuta nodded. "I promise mom." He took out all of the Featherman R figurines out of his bag except for one._ 'This is the one mom gave me. I definitely need to bring this.'_ He picked up the clothes, which were lying on his bed, and stuffed them in.

"Your school uniform?" Eri asked as she wondered why her son would bring his uniform.

"I gotta represent the school." Yuuta replied as he tugged on the school uniform he was wearing at the moment. In truth, Nanako told them to bring their uniform because Souji and his friends had always fought shadows in their school uniform. "I have some casual clothes somewhere in there, so don't worry."

He went to the front door with his bag on his back and he put on his shoes. "You're leaving so soon?" Eri asked.

"We're leaving early in the morning tomorrow, so we're staying at the Amagi Inn tonight so we'll be all together."

"Alright." Eri quietly answered as she watched Yuuta walk out the door.

He sped up to a running speed and waved behind him to his mother. "I'll be back! If dad comes home while I'm gone, tell him I said hi!"

Eri waved to her son. "I-I will! Say hi to Nanako-chan for me!"

Yuuta smiled brightly before facing forwards again. _'I'll come back mom. I promise...'_

_Shurei residence_

Maiko finished packing her sports bag in her room as she sipped out of a can of Mad Bull. "I can't believe I'm actually going."

_Knock! Knock!_ "Maiko?"

"Come in mom!"

The door creaked open and Maiko's mother came in with the house phone in her hand. "It's your father. He wanted to call before you left."

"Okay." Maiko stood up and her mother handed her the phone. Maiko held it up to her ear. "Hey dad."

"_Hi Maiko. Your mother told me about the Kirijo Group education experiment. I heard you got selected to be in it."_

"Yup! I'm going with a few other people from school too. I don't know how long the trip is going for, but I'll be back in Inaba for sure."

"_I hope so. The trip is a big opportunity for you, but I want you to be safe, okay?"_

"Yes dad." Maiko smiled. Even though their parents were divorced, she still cared deeply for them.

"_And Maiko..."_

"Yeah dad?"

"_I'm sorry."_

Maiko out down her can of Mad Bull. "Sorry for what?"

"_About that boy. That high schooler who played with you at the shrine. I was afraid that you were serious about marrying him in your first letter so I-"_

Maiko interrupted. "N-no need to say sorry dad! I was a child! I wouldn't do something that ridiculous! Ha ha ha..." She couldn't tell him the truth about her feelings for Minato. It was too embarrassing.

"_Thank you Maiko. And... I want you to know that I'm very proud of you. Your mother and I might not ever get back together, but you're still my daughter and I love you."_

Maiko smiled warmly. "I love you too dad. I have to go soon, so I need to hang up now."

"_Alright. Take care._ _'Beep!'_"

Maiko put down the phone and picked up her bag and swung it onto her shoulder. She put on her shoes and straightened her school uniform and was making her way to the door to wait. Her mother went up to her. "Maiko, before you go I have something for you." Her mother handed her a small thin cardboard box filled with takoyaki. "Just the way you like it, no actual octopus inside."

Maiko beamed. Her mother had always known about her favourite food, so she got the recipe off the takoyaki store in Iwatodai. "Thanks mom!"

"And one other thing..." Her mother searched her pocket and took out a letter envelope. "This is from the boy you played with before we left Iwatodai."

Maiko took the letter. "From Minato? But why-"

"I'm sorry Maiko. I knew that boy was important to you. Your father was given that letter from him before he died. Your father sent the letter to us but I always kept it secret because I was afraid it would open up old wounds. I'm sorry..."

Maiko shook her head. "It's okay mom. You had your reasons. If I read this a few years ago I would've broke out in tears." She tucked it into her pocket. "I'll read it when I get to Iwatodai. It's been so long."

"I know Maiko." Her mother agreed. "It might get a little lonely over there though, since your father moved out of Iwatodai..."

"I'll be fine mom. I have friends coming with me."

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_ "Hey Maiko! Let's go!"

Maiko turned to the front door. "That's Yuuta. I better go now mom."

Her mother nodded. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Maiko opened the door and walked out. "I will."

Yuuta wore a smug grin as he waited for her. "Ready to go?"

Maiko grinned. "I sure am." They ran down the street and away they went.

_Takahashi residence_

"Whew! I'm done!"

Miwa fell onto the bed as she finished putting the last set of her school uniform into her sports bag. In the side pocket of her bag she had hidden a leather whip her grandfather used to herd cows with. She lifted her left arm and took a look at her watch. "Almost time."

She got off the bed and grabbed her bag. She went downstairs and dropped the bag at the door as she put on her shoes. That's when she heard footsteps coming her way.

"Onee-chan! Wait!"

'_Oh great.'_ She turned to see two ten year olds running towards her. One of them was a boy with black scruffy hair and the other ten year old was a girl with brown hair in a ponytail. Both were wearing matching t-shirts and pants, with the t-shirts red and pants brown. The girl was squealing, "You're really leaving onee-chan?"

Miwa rolled her eyes. "Yes, for the one hundredth time, I'm going on a trip and I won't be back for while."

"B-but... but... WAAH!" The girl started crying.

"Don't cry Mei." The boy tried to calm her down. "Onee-chan said she'll be back."

Miwa shook her head. She bent down to her little sister. "Mei, I know you want me to stay, but I want to go with my friends. I can't always be here." Miwa gave her a hug. "Danno will take care of you when mom and dad are at work. Just stay strong for me. Okay?"

Mei nodded after sniffing one last time.

Miwa turned to Danno. "And Danno."

"Y-yes onee-chan?"

"I want you to take care of Mei while I'm away. When mom and dad are out working, you're in charge as the eldest. If you're safe, I'll know that Mei's safe. Promise?"

"I-I promise."

Miwa gently ruffled his hair. "Alright then. I'm off." She unlocked the door and opened it. Taking the first step outside, the twins grabbed her legs. "W-what! I thought I said-"

"You better come back!" Mei sobbed as she buried her face in Miwa's leg. "I don't want you to leave like mom and dad does!"

Miwa looked at her wide eyed before turning to Danno. Danno shrugged. "Don't look at me, onee-chan. I'm just doing what Mei's telling me to do." Miwa sighed.

She put her bag down and hugged her sister. "I'll be back, Mei."

Mei parted her face from her sister's leg and looked up at her. "P-promise?"

Miwa smiled warmly. "I promise." Mei eventually nodded and let her go. The twins walked back into the house as Miwa watched them go. She repeated her vow, "I promise."

"Heeeyyy!"

Miwa turned to see Yuuta and Maiko waiting for her at the corner. Yuuta was waving like an idiot as usual. "You ready?"

Miwa picked up her sports bag and gave her house one last look. Then she ran to her friends. "Let's go!"

_Reiji's apartment_

Reiji placed his bag on the dining table as he went over to the couch. Throwing himself onto it, he looked around his small apartment as the bright light from the windows shined through. _'I've only been here a week and I'm already getting out of here.'_

A creak from one of the bedroom doors broke out and an elderly woman in a robe stepped into the light. She didn't have an arched back or a mass of grey hair on her head. She actually had a straight back and very few wrinkles could be seen on her face. Her hair was mostly grey but streaks of black could be seen. The woman had her hands on each other in front of her as she spoke, "Are you going now Reiji?"

"Yes Obaa-san." Reiji replied to the woman. He jumped off the couch and made his way to the door picking up his bag on the way. "This isn't a trip I'm going to miss out on."

His grandmother smiled. "I see." She looked at a photo framed on the window sill. The picture had a smiling young Reiji of the tender age of eight or nine and his grandmother holding him. Next to them was a young man in a police uniform and on the other side was a bearded old man in a samurai garb. Reiji still had green hair in the picture. In the background was the inside of a dojo. "It's just... ever since your father and your grandfather died it's been too quiet everywhere we move to." She gently smiled at her grandson warmly, "You'll leave the nest too eventually."

"G-grandma!" Reiji seemed to be choked by her prediction. "I would never leave-!"

"It's alright Reiji." His grandmother chuckled. She knew her grandson too well. "It has been the greatest joy in my life seeing you and your father grow up before my eyes. I don't want to be deadweight for you Reiji. I want you to enjoy life. And if you can only enjoy life without me, I won't mind."

Reiji remained silent and walked over to her. "You'll never be deadweight grandma. I'll never leave you either. You're the only family I have left."

Reiji's grandmother gently put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm very happy to hear that Reiji. You don't have to torture yourself over what happened three years ago. That scar must still hurt."

Reiji placed his hand on the scar on the right side of his neck. "Maybe it does, but I want it to stay that way. It's a reminder, so I don't ever make the same mistake again..."

His grandmother looked down for moment, letting the silence go on. Then she looked Reiji kindly in the eye. "You wouldn't be going on this trip if it was with complete strangers. Don't deny it, I know you like the back of my hand. Have you made friends already?"

Reiji looked her back in the eye, still serious but the sadness wasn't as deep anymore. "...Yeah, I have. And after this trip, they might be more than friends."

His grandmother smiled with joy. "I see."

_Ding dong!_

"That's them." Reiji stated as he once again picked up his bag and put on his shoes. Just before he opened the door he looked back at his grandmother.

"Don't worry about me." She assured him. "I might be getting old but I'm not helpless."

Reiji smiled. "See ya Obaa-san." He walked out and closed the door behind him. The first sight out the door was Miwa and Maiko cheerfully waiting for him as Yuuta was huffing and puffing up the stairs with two bags on him.

"W-why am I carrying your baggage up five stories worth of stairs?" Yuuta complained as he caught his breath.

Miwa just smiled at Yuuta without a care in the world written on her face. "Because that's the gentleman's job. You don't expect a lady to carry her luggage up this many stairs, do you?" She quickly took Maiko's bag off Maiko and gave to Reiji. "And now Reiji can be a gentleman and carry this all the way down."

"Uh, Miwa. I can carry that myself." said Maiko as she was worried that they would be pushing the rules of etiquette.

Reiji simply put the bag over his shoulder. "That's okay. I don't want to be deadweight. And you guys did know that the elevator's just around the corner, right?"

Miwa tried to look as innocent and oblivious as possible. "Really? I had no idea..."

Yuuta was not convinced. "You knew!" he growled as he pointed an accusing finger at Miwa, "You knew there was an elevator all along you slave drive-!"

"Let's get going." Maiko sighed as she pushed Miwa and Yuuta towards the elevator. She looked back and winked at Reiji. "Sorry about the baggage..."

Reiji shrugged. "Don't mention it."

_Dojima Residence_

"Did you pack your clothes?"

"Yes."

"Your school uniform?"

"That makes up half of the clothes in here, dad."

"Do you have your phone?"

"Dad..."

"You should probably bring some sunscre-"

"Dad!"

Ryotaro blankly looked at his daughter. "Y-yes, Nanako?"

Nanako shook her head as she zipped up her bag. "I told you this isn't a regular trip. Mitsuru-san said to only pack clothes and stuff we need for outdoor survival. I don't think phones are going to work on another planet."

Ryotaro ruffled his own hair in slight embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry. I keep forgetting that you're going to war and not- wait, did you say another planet?"

Nanako didn't look him in the eye. "Um... never mind."

Ryotaro sighed. "Well you've made up your mind on going. So I guess there's no point in asking where."

Nanako shook her head again. "Geez dad. I don't need you checking on what I'm packing, I can do that myself." Her eyes caught the sunscreen bottle on the bench and she hesitantly grabbed it and put in her bag. "Though, maybe I should take the sunscreen..."

Ryotaro chuckled. Nanako gave her father an unamused stare. "What?"

"Nothing." Ryotaro answered his daughter. "It's just... you remind me so much about your mother."

Nanako looked down at her feet as she wasn't sure how to answer that. She eventually did, "Really?"

Ryotaro gave her a hug. "Yes, you really do." As Nanako hugged back he tightened his grip. "Promise me that you'll come home safe, hero or not. Okay?"

"No."

Ryotaro flinched at the response. "Nanako!"

Before she could get lectured, Nanako went on. "I did promise that yesterday dad, but now I want to promise something else." She looked up at her father and looked him in the eye. "Now I'm promising that I'll come home safe with everyone. Big Bro, my friends, even S.E.E.S. I'm not coming home until I bring Big Bro and the others home with me. Okay?"

Ryotaro looked at his daughter as he took in the new promise. He sighed and went back to hugging her. "You're as stubborn as your mother, you know that?"

Nanako smiled. "I got it from both sides of the family."

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Nanako lifted her head and turned to the door. "That's them. It's time." She broke away from the hug and lifted her bag onto her shoulders. "Bye dad."

"... bye Nanako."

Nanako opened the door and was about to step through but she stopped and smiled at her dad. "Hey dad. When Big Bro and I come back, you better buy sushi to celebrate. Deal?"

Ryotaro nodded and gave her a small smile. "Deal."

Nanako grinned and closed the door. Ryotaro was left alone in the house as he muttered, "Good luck Nanako."

Nanako turned away from the door and saw her four friends waiting just in front of the house. Or, at least trying to wait patiently. Miwa and Yuuta were standing next to each other bickering about something trivial as Reiji tried to separate them. Maiko was chuckling before she turned to Nanako. "All set?"

Nanako looked at her house. She had lived in it for so many years. Now her home along with the rest of the galaxy was on her shoulders. But she smiled as she remembered she wasn't alone. She turned, gave off a fresh grin and said, "Yeah, let's go."

And the five of them walked towards the next destination.

_The Velvet room..._

"It's time." Igor stood up from his seat in the blue jet plane as Margaret stood up as well, brushing her tome. A door of light opened in mid air in front of them and two figures walked out. One was dressed in white with his hair tied in a ponytail as he wore a blue butterfly mask and the other person was smaller than Margaret but was wearing a similar outfit.

Margaret waved to the smaller person. "Hello Elizabeth."

"It's good to see you again sister."

Igor stepped forward and bowed to the masked man. "Is everything ready, master Philemon?"

The masked man nodded. "All is ready. We must gather. Tonight."

* * *

Eighth chapter down! Sorry if this chapter is filled with fluff but I just felt family scenes before the war was needed. Please read and review!


	8. Chapter 8 Preliminaries, round two

_July 27__th__, inside the TV world..._

"Waaaahh!"

_Thump!_

In the middle of an open green valley of grass inside the TV world, Yuuta landed head first into the ground after appearing out from a rippling rectangular portal several metres above ground level. His bag dropping next to him, Yuuta sat up and held his poor face in his hands. "Oh God, that hurts."

Miwa stepped out of another rectangular portal that appeared closer to the ground. "Serves you right. Nanako warned you about taking that particular TV, but you didn't bother to listen."

"Shut up, I did listen. I just thought it would be more fun to make a landing."

Yukari had just heard that last part as she stepped through the same portal Miwa did. "Well, you better look up." she warned, "You weren't the only one with that idea."

Yuuta had a question mark hovering above his head. "Huh?"

"Geronimo!"

As someone had exclaimed that, Yuuta turned his head upwards. "What the-!"

CRASH!

Yukari quickly made her way to the carnage with a slight bit of concern on her face. "A-are you alright?"

Junpei sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh... y-yeah, I'm fine. Lucky for me, I think I landed on something soft."

"...Yeah. Lucky for you." mumbled Yuuta. Junpei looked down to see that had landed on Yuuta. Yuuta was sprawled on the ground facing down as Junpei was sitting on him. Yuuta groaned again. "Ugh. P-please get off me."

"Oh, sorry dude." Junpei quickly apologised as he stood up. "Perhaps I should use the front door next time."

Mitsuru appeared as she stepped through the portal. Taking a few steps into the field, she smiled as she admired the scenery of lush green grass and trees. "No matter how many times I imagine about his place, only a proper viewing of it can make me feel so at peace."

"Too bad we won't be here for long." Akihiko muttered as he walked to her side. "That manuscript said that someone will be wherever we're gathered to pick us up. I still have a bad feeling about that."

"Would you rather have someone or something to come to us in the real world?" Mitsuru countered. "If we stay here inside this... television, then it's safe to say that no one will see us going to another planet."

Akihiko shrugged. "I guess so. But I am a little concerned whether they'll find us or not."

"I have a feeling they'll find us, whether we stand out or hide in the shadows." Mitsuru stated as she continued to gaze over the land. Her eyes focused as she saw Nanako dragging Ken out to the field.

Akihiko spotted them too. "What are those two up to?"

Nanako tugged on Ken's jacket sleeve as she ran across. "Come on Ken-san! Hurry up!"

"Okay Nanako! I get it!" Ken as he was tugged along.

The teacher and student came across a lone tree. The tree wasn't as big as the oak tree on the hill where they were eating lunch the other day, but it was considerably large. The tree's leaves were lush green, matching the surrounding field of grass. Under the tree was a boulder about close to a metre high and the same in width. Nanako sat down on the boulder with her head back as she looked into the blue sky. "This is my favourite place in this world. I come here every time Big Bro came back to Inaba. We would sit under the tree and I would listen to Big Bro about the cases he takes on. Sometimes even Naoto told me about her cases." Nanako grimaced slightly before chuckling. "Of course, she's really bad at it. Perhaps it's the monotone in her voice, but the only good ones she has told me are always the ones that the victim in them dies really horribly."

"Yeesh." Ken shivered. "I'm not one for gory stories."

"But Ken-san," Nanako began, "I think you're really brave."

Ken looked at her in confusion before Nanako spoke again. "Mitsuru-san told me all about what you guys did when you first joined S.E.E.S. You were only eleven and yet you went to fight Shadows. If it were me," Nanako looked down to the floor, "I don't think I could've done anything like that."

As the breeze blew around them Ken looked down to the ground as well. "...To be honest, I didn't join because of the Shadows." Nanako looked up at him as he hesitated to say more. He continued with a shakiness in his voice, "I-I joined for a deeper reason. A selfish reason. And because of that-"

Ken stopped as a pair of fingers came over his mouth. Nanako was now right in front of him pushing her index and middle finger against his lips. "It's okay Ken-san. We all do something selfish or stupid in life. But letting the past mistakes remind us not to do them again is scary. If you say that fighting Shadows isn't brave, then what ever you did to overcome your mistake was."

Pausing as Nanako took away her fingers, Ken nodded gently. "Thanks."

"I should be thanking you first. I wanted to visit this place before we left." She pulled out the picture of her and the investigation team out of her pocket. In the background behind them was the same tree and boulder. "Even though, I'll always have a picture of it with me."

She put away the picture and grabbed the sleeve of Ken's orange jacket once again. "Let's head back!"

"H-hang on! Don't pull so hard! This is my favourite jacket!"

As the two made their way back, Mitsuru was on the other side of the field with her middle and index finger resting on her temple with a smile on her face. Her Persona Artemisia had listened on the whole conversation without being summoned and whispering to Mitsuru. Removing her fingers from her temple, Akihiko turned to her.

"Was everything okay Mitsuru?"

Mitsuru nodded as she retained her smile. "Everything was perfectly fine."

When Nanako and Ken returned to the others all of them were patiently waited for the arrival of their representative Eternate as they stood in the field. Aegis and Fuuka were sitting down while playing Koromaru Jr. as Miwa was double checking her bag. Yuuta, who was too curious for his own good, was trying to take a peek. "Whatcha got in there Miwa?"

Miwa gave him a disapproving eye. "You don't ask a lady a question like that Yuuta."

"Come on Miwa! Tell me!" Yuuta pleaded like a child.

"Alright," Miwa sighed. She reached into her bag and what she brought out brought chills to Yuuta's spine. Miwa flicked her wrist and her whip whipped out with a crack. "This is my grandfather's whip. I've had some practice with it, so I'm going to use it as my weapon."

"Uh... yeah, okay..." Yuuta merely nodded and backed away. _'I think this trip just got a whole lot more dangerous...'_

Not taking any notice of Yuuta's fear, Miwa grabbed a pisyx from her pocket and sealed her whip into it. After putting the pisyx back into her pocket she took out another pisyx and did the same with her bag. "There! All set."

Reiji sealed his bag into his own pisyx as well. "These things sure make travelling convenient."

"I'll say." said Yukari. "I wish we could use these in the real world. That way I wouldn't have to worry about carrying too much shopping."

Maiko sat on the grass as she had already sealed her luggage on her own pisyx. As she admired the view, a blue butterfly landed on her head. Maiko steadily managed to nudge it onto her finger. She stood up and continued to observe the blue butterfly as it rested on her finger slowly flapping its blue wings. Maiko then spotted Nanako coming back from the corner of her eye. "Hey Nanako, take a look at this."

Nanako came over and eyed the butterfly with slight surprise. "A butterfly? They aren't supposed to be any butterflies in here."

The butterfly took off from Maiko's finger and fluttered towards the clearing between the Persona users. More butterflies fluttered out of nowhere as the team was soon surrounded by a swarm of them. Koromaru snarled and growled at them as Fuuka was becoming panicky. "T-these butterflies... they all have a small amount of power, but each of them feels the same! They're merging and combining their power!"

All of the butterflies swarmed around the first one and began piling on each other. When the last butterfly packed into the blue swarm a bright light shined from the swarm. The butterflies faded in the light as another shape was emerging from the light. The figure wasn't clear at first but then it became more and more humanoid. The light show ended as the light burned out. In place of the swarm of blue butterflies was a man in a white suit. Fairly tall and astute appearing, the man had his silver hair tied in a pony tail. His entire face was covered in a mask, the left side being completely blank and white while the right side took on a shape of a blue wing of a butterfly.

Nanako, Yuuta, Maiko, Reiji and Miwa all recognised this entity as one person. "Zorn!"

The five brought out their pisyxes and summoned their weapons as all of them charged at the masked man. Fuuka's eyes widened as Juno hastily whispered to her. "Everyone stop!"

Her call was unanswered to no avail as the five teenagers continued to rush at the man. The masked man simply put up his hands as the weapons came closer and closer...

_CLASH!_

The weapons had hit, but not on their mark. The man stood perfectly still with his hands in the air but in a different position than before as his hands crossed each other. The five had not made a scratch on him as they only surrounded him. Nanako's claws had intercepted Yuuta's sword and Miwa's whip which was curled around the blades. Maiko's armoured leg had blocked Reiji's metal bat as the bat was also blocked Yuuta's sword. The five didn't move as they were all bewildered by their attacks nullifying each other.

The masked man spoke, "Calm yourselves children..." In a simple, smooth motion he uncrossed his arms and the five were suddenly pushed back by an invisible force.

"Wah-! Oof!" Yuuta yelled as he sailed through the air and landed roughly on the ground. As the other did in turn, Yuuta picked up his sword and charged again. "Raaaahhh-!"

"I said calm yourselves." The man sternly muttered as he put his hand up again and push the air. Yuuta was sent flying again.

"Ahh!" Yuuta landed in the same spot, this time face first into the ground. "Ow..."

Fuuka couldn't take much more. "Everyone please stop! This man is far too powerful!"

"Quite right madam. You have a marvellous amount of skill as a sensor."

Everyone turned towards the voice that came from behind Fuuka and saw a longed nose man with an arched back in a black suit. He was supported by a jewel cane in his left hand. Aegis and Nanako recognised him immediately. "Igor!"

Igor chuckled. "Greetings to all of you. I apologise if you are rattled, but my master is not the man who you think he is."

"Master Igor is correct." said a voice from behind Aegis. She turned to see a young girl with amber eyes and blonde hair in a blue business dress. "The man you see in the mask is our head master and a powerful master at that."

Aegis immediately smiled at the appearance of the blue dressed girl. "Elizabeth!"

Another figure appeared behind Nanako. She was also dressed in a similar outfit as Elizabeth but more formal and concealing than hers. Nanako meet the woman's amber eyes and recognised her within a split second. "M-Margaret!"

Miwa had her shaking hand pointing at the newcomers. "Y-You guys were from that plane! The Velvet room!"

"As so are we." Walking up to Elizabeth's side was boy with the same amber eyes and white hair as Margaret and Elizabeth had. He was dressed in a blue bell boy top and hat while his pants were black with single blue stripes on the sides. His hands were concealed by white gloves. With a gentle smile he spoke again, "I didn't have the pleasure of meeting you five. My name is Theodore, Theo for short, and I am Margaret's younger brother."

Elizabeth stepped forward. "And I am Elizabeth. I am Theo's older sister and Margaret's younger sister. It is an honour to meet you and a pleasure to see some of you again."

"I-I remember you!" Yukari blurted. "You two were from that elevator twelve years ago!"

"I am delighted you remember us." Igor replied. "Of course, I didn't have the pleasure of introducing myself. My name is Igor." He used his right hand gestured to Margaret. "And this is my current assistant, Margaret."

The masked man slowly walked to Igor and turned to face the Persona users. "And I am Philemon, master of the Velvet room and supervisor of this galaxy. I understand if you have mistaken me for my brother, but time is not on our side and I need cooperation to make use of the time we have."

Mitsuru cautiously spoke out, "You're our Eternate?"

Philemon chuckled. "Ah, I have not been called that for more than millennia. Not surprisingly, as we Eternates hardly ever have anything to do with each other. Yes Mitsuru Kirijo, I am the Eternate that you'll be fighting for in the Tourney."

Mitsuru flinched slightly as Philemon spoke her name. Realising that the masked man in front of her was of a higher power and probably knew everything about her, she didn't bother to ask how he knew her name.

Philemon bowed down slightly. "I apologise if this feud between Zorn and me has given you any grief, but you must understand that the Tourney is not a trivial matter. Truth be told, I'd rather deal with my nemesis, Nyarlathotep, for Zorn is even more ruthless than him."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Nyarlathotep? As in the book?"

Akihiko elbowed him lightly. "I think he's more than a book in this case Ken."

Nanako quickly made her way over to Philemon with a regretful look on her face. "I-I'm sorry, we shouldn't have attacked so suddenly..."

Philemon chuckled again. "No need for apologies Nanako." He cast his humour aside as the air around him became more serious. "Are you all ready to depart? If you stay Zorn will surely send his followers to take you by force. Anyone with a Persona is to be taken to the Tourney with only a few exceptions. And Zorn will be sure that the extraction will be violent."

The Persona users gather themselves and stood together in front of Philemon. Mitsuru spoke on everyone's behalf, "We will come. We've protected this world once before and we won't let it fall into the hands of a madman."

Philemon nodded. "Very well." He put up his hand and a door of light appeared before. "I will bestow you a few more minutes before departure. That should be enough time for some of you to reconcile." He silently gestured to Elizabeth, who was beaming at the fact she could reconcile with Aegis. "When it is time, you have to leave through this door." He walked away from the group and further into the fields.

Aegis didn't waste any time. "Elizabeth, it's been so long."

"I am happy to see you again Aegis." Elizabeth replied with a smile.

Igor stepped in. "It is very good to see you again Elizabeth."

Elizabeth bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry for leaving master. I needed to find a way to free the man for who I have still have fallen for. I have only returned to stop Zorn from winning the Tourney or else he would most likely tamper with the Great Seal. I cannot allow that to happen."

Aegis felt a tug on her shoulder. She turned to see Maiko who was eyeing Elizabeth. "S-she... she's talking about Minato, isn't she?"

Aegis gave her a nod in reply. "Yes. When Minato used the Velvet room it was Elizabeth who assisted him at the time. After Minato became the Great Seal she has been trying to help him come back without trying to bring Nyx in contact with Erebus."

Maiko nodded in understanding. "I see. She came back because she's like us."

"That is correct." Aegis replied.

Igor tapped his cane into the ground. "It seems that all of you have intriguing destinies. Before we leave I would like to see a glimpse of these destinies." With another tap of his cane into the ground a table with several tarot cards facing downwards appeared in front of them. "Do you believe in fortune telling?"

"Hell no." Junpei bluntly answer. "It's all the same crap. Get married this, great fortune that, you're death will be blah blah blah..."

"Junpei, shush!" Yukari shushed at him before turning her attention to the table with eager eyes.

Junpei was slightly baffled by Yukari's response. "Y-Yuka-tan... don't tell me you actually believe in this stuff..."

Igor continued. "We'll start with the present. We have..." He glided his hand over the cards, passing above them before flipping the card on the far right. The picture was of a broken tower with lightning striking it. "The Tower, in the upright position. This foretells that mystery is upon us, that we seek answers to many questions. Only in an instant or within a matter of time can we find the truth. And for the future..." Igor brought his hand to the centre card and flipped. His eyes widened for only an instant as the card was blank. "This is indeed intriguing. It seems the future at this point won't show itself. A fascinating development..."

Junpei scoffed. "More like boring. I knew this stuff was phony."

Yukari had a disappointing look on her face. "So we don't know yet huh?"

"Do not worry." Igor tapped his cane into the ground again and the table disappeared. "It's more fascinating to find out what happens in sequence rather than flipping over to the end of a book."

"Ouch!"

Everyone turned to see Theodore grasping his right hand with Koromaru snarled at him.

"_Grrrr_..."

Theodore had just noticed the eyes that were staring at him. "I-I just wanted to pet him..."

Margaret was not impressed. "Theo..."

Nanako walked over to her. "He's your little brother huh?"

Margaret replied with a small smile creeping up, "He is. Family is very important. You can't choose them after all."

Nanako nodded. "Yeah..."

Margaret bent down slightly to meet Nanako eye to eye. "Souji talked about you from time to time. He said you were a very bright girl."

Nanako flinched. "Y-you know Big Bro?"

"Very well. Your 'brother' was a Wild Card after all. He used to Velvet room too. I was Master Igor's assistant at the time."

Nanako remained silent before asking in a cheerful voice, "Let me guess, you have a crush on him, right?"

Margaret flustered and looked away. "I-I don't know what you mean."

Nanako smirked. She knew Margaret wasn't a person who would lose their composure easily. Then she recalled the amulet in her pocket. Thinking that Margaret could help, Nanako showed her the gate amulet. "Margaret, do you know what this is?"

Margaret embraced the amulet in her hand and observed it. Her eyes widened slightly. "W-where did you get this?"

Nanako looked down. "I... can't really tell you."

Margaret nodded and didn't push it any further. "I am certain that this is an artefact. A powerful and rare one indeed, though I've never seen it before I'm sure that there are only a less than a dozen of these in the universe."

"Do you know what it does?"

Margaret shook her head. "I'm sorry. My knowledge with artefacts is broad, but such a rare artefact is a mystery to even my master, Igor."

Nanako accepted the answer with a bit of disappointment. "Oh... that's okay. I'll look for the answer myself."

Then Philemon's voice came out from behind her. "Are you ready?"

Nanako turned to see Philemon walking back towards them. "We must depart. There isn't much time."

Jumping into action Nanako called out, "A-alright! Guys, let's-" She stopped before noticing someone was missing. "Where's Reiji?"

Akihiko looked around. "Where did he go?"

Yuuta pointed to the portal of light. "He went ahead. He said that he was getting excited and he practically jumped in there."

Akihiko ran after him. "That guy really needs to learn how to slow down..."

Disappearing into the light, Mitsuru and Yukari followed. "Takahashi." Mitsuru called out. "Let's move."

Hearing her name Miwa followed. "I-I'm coming!"

"We're going in!" Yukari yelled excitedly before running in with Mitsuru and Miwa.

Fuuka picked up Koromaru Jr. and sped along. "Time to go Koro-chan."

"Arf!"

"Aegis, I'm ready!" Maiko called out to her teacher.

Aegis nodded to her pupil. "We're going." The two dashed into the light.

"Come on slowpoke! We're gonna be the last ones there!" Junpei bellowed at Yuuta.

"I'm coming! Sheesh!"

Ken turned to Nanako. "You ready to go?"

Nanako breathed in deep before answering. "I'm ready." Nodding at each other, they walked into the light.

Philemon faced Igor and pointed to the doorway. "Make sure they don't lose their way."

"Understood." Igor walked to the portal. "Let us be on our way."

The siblings in blue followed their master into the light. One by one they went through into the door. Just as Philemon was about to walk through himself a voice called out to him.

"My, it's very rare to see you here."

Philemon stopped and rounded to see a woman with red eyes and grey hair looking at him. The woman was in a white dress the conceal most of her skin. The woman smiled. "You've taken an interest in humans again? I thought after the last dealing with Nyarlathotep you were to remain unseen."

"It couldn't stay like that for long." Philemon answered. "I am still neutral when it comes to humans finding peace. Unlike how you were years ago Izanami."

Izanami chuckled. "I've learned my lesson. I am better off ruling over Yomi and keeping this world beautiful. It's like a garden to me now, though I don't mind mending it whenever those with Personas ever arrive here." Izanami paused before pointing out Philemon's silver hair with a deadpanned stare. "You've changed your form again, haven't you?"

"It happens whenever the Wild Card is bestowed on the chosen." Philemon answered with a tone of amusement in his voice. "I like this form very much. The hair has a very interesting colour for someone his age."

"I'd prefer it if you kept your original form. It unnerves me that you have the same face as _him_ and my husband."

Philemon chuckled. He grabbed his masked and removed it from his face, revealing the face a young man with silver eyes and hair. The face of Souji Seta. "Taking the forms of the Wild Card wielders entertains me. I think I'll stay in this form for a while longer."

Izanami wanted to scoff at him, but knowing his strength she decided not to. "Suit yourself. But be aware, one of your warriors has a close bond with the man whose face you wear. I would not advise on unmasking yourself when you are near her."

Souji's face grinned before it was once concealed by the butterfly mask. "I'll take that into account. Farewell Izanami." With a swift rotation towards the portal Philemon walked through. In a flash of light the portal was no longer there and Izanami was left alone.

"Damn him." Izanami muttered to herself before sadly gazing over the field. Her face darkened in sorrow. "Taking the form of the one who reminds so much about my lost love..."

* * *

Nanako and Ken walk beside each other through the white space. The environment around them was pure white. No colour, no scenery, just plain white emptiness. Looking around frantically, Nanako didn't like this. "W-Where do we now?"

Ken kept silence as he had no idea where they should go. He looked right and left, even up and down, looking for a way out. Then he spotted Margaret in the distance. "Hey! There's one of the Velvet room assistants!"

They rushed towards to Margaret through the whiteness. Noticing their approach, Margaret waved them down. "There you are. I hope this isn't too inconvenient."

Ken didn't look amused. "How on earth are we supposed to get to Gerra this way? There are no roads or signs! We could be stuck here forever!"

"Calm down." Margaret soothed. "This is a stairway to many places in the universe, but you need to get to one place." Margaret turned and started walking. "Keep calm. This passageway traps whoever gives in to despair and discord. Relax and clear your mind. Only then can this place lead you to Gerra." As she continued walking she faded into the whiteness.

Nanako watched her go before closing her eyes. Her muscles and shoulders relaxed and she cleared her mind of all fear and worry.

Ken looked at her worried. "Nanako?"

"Trust me Ken-san." Nanako replied. "Do what Margaret says. It might be our only way out."

Ken nodded and copied Nanako's trance. The two were still and calm in the blank whiteness of the lifeless world around them.

Nanako felt a breeze hit her from in front of her. She opened her eyes to see a portal shaped like a doorway in front of her. Beyond the portal she could see her friends waiting on the other side on a circular stone platform with stone pillars surrounding the circle. Nanako grabbed Ken's hand and tugged him along. "Come on Ken-san!"

Ken opened his eyes as he felt her tugging him before staggering along. Nanako and Ken walked through the portal and out of the whiteness.

When the two stepped into the world of colour the door leading to the white world closed behind them. As they had stepped onto the stone ground everyone had turned to their attention. Everyone except Akihiko and Reiji as Reiji was getting a lecture.

"Ken-kun!" Fuuka called out with a wave of relief over her face. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Yuuta went up to Nanako and patted her on the back. "Hey Nanako. I was afraid you were stuck in there forever."

Nanako just shrugged and put on a grin. "It'll take more than that to get me down."

Akihiko went up to Ken after finishing his lecture. "You okay Ken?"

Ken wiped his brow. "I have to admit, going through a place like that scared the hell out of me. I wonder how Nanako managed to stay so calm..."

"It seems we have all made it here safely."

Everyone turned to see Philemon approaching them with Igor and the assistant siblings behind him. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into an old friend on the way here." Philemon pushed up his masked at the statement. "Zorn's followers should be here to greet us any minute now..."

Koromaru's ears suddenly perked up and became very unfriendly to a nearby bush. "_Grrr_... Arf! ARF!"

Aegis understood immediately. "Someone's here!"

The bushes Koromaru was barking at rustled as a black blur jumped out. The blur quickly landed onto a stone pillar behind them. Everyone twirled to identify a man in a black hood. He wore a black leather jacket and blue jeans while his face was concealed by a mask. The mask was white and had a long but thin slit where the mouth should be and the eyes were crescent moons. "So you guys are last, huh?"

Mitsuru's remained calm but her face told everyone she didn't like the man. "Identify yourself." She growled.

"My, my, such a hot-blooded vixen." the man smugly commented. "Perhaps you and I could get cosy somewhere..." Mitsuru shot more death glares and the man. He reacted by stumbling back slightly. "Okay, maybe not. But to answer your question, the name's Jackal, I'm one of Lord Zorn's Eligere Guards."

"Eligere Guards?" Miwa questioned him.

Mitsuru answered her question. "According to the manuscripts the Eligere Guards are Zorn's personal guard. They're also an anti-corruption force."

"Anti-corruption?" Yukari pondered, "You mean..."

Mitsuru nodded gravely. "They have authority to execute anyone who plans to betray Zorn."

The man named 'Jackal' snapped his fingers into a tick sign. "Bingo! Looks like someone actually did their homework! But I have to ask, what are these manuscripts you're talking about?"

Nanako panicked, realising if they exposed Zatch as the one who leaked the information to them he'd be killed by an Eligere Guard. "N-no one! Nobody gave us any manuscripts!"

"Feh. I'll find out sooner or later who it is." Jackal stretched his arms as if he was yawning. "Well that's not why I'm here. You may want to step away from the centre. Or else you'll fall in." He clapped his hands twice and the centre of the stone circle began to crack.

"What the-! Move everyone!" Junpei cried as he ran away from the breaking circle. Igor and Philemon were observing the circle's destruction as they weren't on it in the first place. Everyone else jumped off before the stone gave away to the void underground.

Yuuta pointed angrily at Jackal who was still on the pillar. "What the hell was that for?"

Jackal simply laughed. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Why don't you look down? You'll see you weren't the only ones to arrive here!"

Puzzled by Jackal's claim, everyone went closer to the hole. The hole was only a few metres deep from the surface and the walls were moulded into smooth walls that surrounded the hole's inside. But that wasn't what shocked the group.

It was the pile of fresh corpses in the hole. There were young men and women lying there, some still bleeding from their wounds. Some of them didn't have heads. All of them had holes where their hearts should've been. The three girls of the junior squad couldn't stand the sight of it.

Miwa was about to burst into tears. "Oh my god..."

Fuuka was just as scared. "T-these people... were Persona users... All of them died in the Tourney..."

Jackal clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "Exactly! They were all weak. They couldn't even pass the second preliminary round." Jackal adjusted his mask. "Which is what I'm going to explain to you. You've all past round one of the preliminaries just by having Personas. Now round two begins." He swung his hand and pointed to his right. "You see the palace over there?"

The Persona users turned to see a stone castle with stone walls around it in the distance. It was very far from where they were as it was almost beyond the horizon and it was located between two mountains. Between them and the castle were forests and grasslands. They could even make out a few wooden villages in the distance.

Jackal continued. "This is a survival test and a time trial. You have five days to make it to the palace. If you're not there by sunset on the fifth day, you're disqualified."

Reiji was losing patience with the Jackal. "And the survival part? I think there's more to it than the wild animals."

"Heh. That's right. While you guys are wondering Gerra and trying to find your way there..." Jackal licked his lips, "All of our soldiers will be looking for you. They don't know you're here but they will search for you like hawks. In towns, in forests, even in the sky. They will hunt you down. And they will kill you no matter what." He gestured to the hole. "Just like how these poor folks met their end. But they were travelling alone, so I guess if you guys stick together you might last longer than these guys! Ha ha ha ha!" He laughed maniacally nonstop.

Maiko was really beginning to hate Jackal. "Sicko! We won't die that easily!"

Jackal caught his breath after laughing his heart out. "Ah ha ha... That's more like it. Don't go dying quickly now, or else this game is going to get boring."

Nanako wanted to punch Jackal in the face. But a hand placed on her shoulder stopped her from exploding. Margaret, whose hand was rested on Nanako's shoulder, began to calm her, "Don't worry. My siblings and I will accompany you. We'll make sure you don't get killed."

Nanako relaxed and was about to reply but Jackal spoiled the mood. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." he went while wagging his finger. "No can do lady. Lord Zorn has already decided who the judges and referees are going to be for the Tourney." He cleared his throat. "Ahem, all attendants and seers of the Velvet room under Philemon are to be judges for the Tourney and are now forbidden to help either side. End of discussion."

Theo straightened up in surprise. "T-that can't be!"

Elizabeth looked the same as her brother. "That isn't fair!"

Philemon put his over in front of them to silence them. He didn't sound happy either. "What is the meaning this?" he commanded in grave tone, "This was not what I agreed with-"

"Lord Zorn changed his mind." Jackal smugly rubbed in the fact. "I suggest that you get the old man and the kids in blue uniform over to the castle. Your brother is waiting."

Philemon let down his arm. He clenched his fist. "He is not my brother..." he growled.

Jackal shrugged. He brushed his jeans before straightening his posture. "Well, Lord Zorn did say you guys can have a small compromise. You can give them one piece of advice, but that's all. Anymore assistance than that and Philemon's warriors are disqualified. You guys better start walking, because your time starts now." He waved his hand in a farewell. "Tallyho!" And with that he jumped and disappeared from sight.

Silence reigned over everyone after Jackal's departure. Aegis eventually ended the silence. "You can't come with us?" Aegis asked Elizabeth anxiously.

Elizabeth's head hung in regret. "I'm sorry Aegis. If we help you Zorn will win the Tourney. And if that happens he will no doubt destroy the seal Minato is encased in. I can't let that happen."

"I... I understand."

Philemon spoke to Mitsuru, "I'm afraid that you're on your own now. As an Eternate I can't participate in the Tourney and now my servants have been ruled out too."

Mitsuru retained her composed and controlled posture. "Then we'll have to make do with it." She turned to the others. "We leave now, there's no time to waste. From what I can see, we can reach the palace in two days. Let's go before Zorn's henchmen find us."

At Mitsuru's command everyone started heading towards the stone castle in the distance. The atmosphere was heavy. Even Yuuta and Junpei couldn't find the motivation to joke around. Nanako was about to follow when Margaret grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait." she commanded. "There's one piece of advice we can give you."

"What is it?"

Margaret pointed to a large forest halfway between where they were and the castle. "Just beyond that forest is a small village. Find a man named Fenrir. He can help you."

"Fenrir..." Nanako repeated while feeling a familiarity with the name. She shock off the feeling to remain focused. "How can he help?"

"Fenrir is a powerful Persona user. In fact, his village hasn't been touched by Zorn's men because of him. He is rumoured to be one the only Persona user on Gerra powerful enough to overthrow Zorn. Recent rumours say that Fenrir and Zorn have come to a truce, but I think Fenrir will help you either way. And..." Margaret gestured to the amulet in Nanako's pocket, "He probably knows what that artefact is. I have no doubt about it."

Nanako nodded. "Got it. I'll tell Mitsuru-san." She bowed out of gratitude. "Thank you so much Margaret."

"Your gratitude is well acknowledged Nanako Dojima. I have one request though..." Margaret's hand tightened on her shoulder. She seemed uneasy. "... Find Souji, no matter what. Is that too much of a request?"

Nanako slowly nodded. "Of course. That's one of the reasons I came here."

Margaret let go of Nanako and walked to her siblings. "We will leave now. Good luck." said Margaret with her back to Nanako.

"Thank you Margaret." Nanako silently thanked her again. She turned and ran towards her friends as they were waiting for her a few metres away.

Margaret turned around and watched her go.

"Is everything alright Margaret?"

Margaret looked to her right to see her master Igor standing next to her. With a shake of her head she answered, "I... I'm not sure master."

Igor put on his usual creepy smile. "They'll find him Margaret. You have to worry about. Come, Lord Philemon needs to take us to the palace of Vistry."

Margaret gazed out to the group of Persona users, thinking about the journey ahead. She eventually turned around. "Yes, master Igor."

Unknown to them, Jackal hid in the bushes and eyes the Persona users travelling down the valley. "Heh, have fun Nanako…"

"Shouldn't you be heading back?" said a voice.

Jackal turned around to see a silhouette in the shadows. By the sound of his voice the man clearly had altered his voice, as it sounded high-pitch and artificial. He remained in the shadows.

Jackal just shrugged. "Hey, come on. Just because I'm new, it doesn't mean you can tell me what to do. As an Eligere Guard I can do as I please. Though you can more than that, since you're also an Eligere Guard and an Arcana Knight… Nero."

The man didn't move from the shadows. "Lord Zorn said to leave them alone. Are you starting to care for the people you used to live on the same planet with? The only reason you're not causing a ruckus with your disappearance is because of Lord Zorn's magic. They think you're still on Earth. Do you still care for them?"

Jackal didn't reply for a few seconds before chiding, "Of course not. After all…"

He smiled fiendishly under his mask. "They're nothing but a couple of bitches and whores."

* * *

"So this person called Fenrir can help us?" Ken asked Nanako alongside Mitsuru as they walked down the grass and stone fields.

"That's what Margaret said." answered Nanako.

"If it is the only advice the Velvet room attendants can offer us, then I don't see why we shouldn't follow it." Mitsuru stated in a controlled tone. "The forest ahead of us is very vast so there isn't a point of trying to go around it. We'll go through it and find the village on the other side."

Yuuta punched his right fist into his left hand with a grin. "Sounds like a plan! I'm ready to go! Zephyrus and I can take on anyone!"

"Woah, hold it there Yuuta." Junpei said. "I used to think that too at one time. But that didn't stop me from getting my ass whooped a couple of times. Take it slow and remember that you aren't the only one in this battle."

Yukari smiled with a bit of humour hanging in her voice. "Wow Junpei. All this time I thought you haven't grown up."

"S-shut up. I can be a good teacher sometimes."

Miwa walked by Fuuka as she bit her lip in anxiousness. "Fuuka-san, can you sense anyone following us or waiting for us ahead? I can't do it as well as you can."

Fuuka shook her head. "No, I don't sense anything behind us. But something is interfering with my abilities in the forest ahead. All I can see are blurs of green."

Akihiko spoke up, "I hope your sensing powers get better when we're in the forest, because an entire army could be waiting for us in there." Even though Miwa knew that Akihiko didn't mean it badly, she still shuddered slightly in fear.

Reiji silently kept walking, occasionally summoning his blue card into his right hand and then let it disappear. His left hand was twitching.

Akihiko didn't miss his fiddling, bandaged arms. "You can calm down Reiji. Fuuka said there weren't any enemies nearby."

"I know..." Reiji mumbled but he still kept his card in his hand. "But I still feel uneasy about sneak attacks..."

Akihiko patted Reiji's back. "You can do that once we get in the forest. Look sharp, it's coming up fast."

The forest had indeed come up fast. After about half an hour of walking they had already reached the nearby forest. The trees looked all the same; tall and thick at their coffee-coloured trunks. Their leaves shadowed out the light of the sun as the inside of the forest was basked in a dull shade. The roots of the enormous trees were about half of Nanako's height, making it look difficult to get through. The ground was covered with dead leaves and vines. The shade made by the leaves of the tree canopies made the sight of the distance into the forest almost black. There was almost no life, save for the occasional bird squawking from the tree tops.

Yuuta looked up to the tree tops. "Whoa... I don't think I can climb these things."

Koromaru backed away from the forest. _'whine...'_

Aegis came down to Koromaru and patted his head. "It's okay Junior. We'll be fine as long as we stick together."

Maiko nodded at that statement. "I agree. Splitting up seems like a bad idea in this case."

"We don't have time to waste." Mitsuru mentioned before turning to her friends. "Yamagishi, I want you to constantly scan the nearby areas we walk into. I'm sure the enemy will try to intercept us. Aegis, Iori, keep Minami and Shurei close to you and stay together. We'll walk in a group and I want you four to keep guard for us at the back."

"Got it senpai." Junpei nodded firmly.

Aegis also nodded in turn. "Understood."

Mitsuru turned back to the forest and summoned her one-handed sword from her pisyx. "Let's move."

Nanako and her friends nodded. "Roger."

_Vistry palace, unknown room..._

Zatch sat on his bed as he held his head in his metal gloved hands. The room he slept in was very small; in fact the bed took up a third of the space. The only source of light came from a single window a little way from the head of the bed. His helmet was next to but his unmasked face was shrouded in shadow, untouched by the light and unseen. A sack tied with rope was in front of him. "We're almost finished..." he mumbled to himself.

A knock came from the door. "Come in." Zatch called out.

The door opened to reveal Sabina, with her red mask still on and in a new white nun outfit. Her arm appeared as if it had never been burned "They're here." she said quickly. Zatch took up his metal helmet with the chains on his arms rattling each other's links.

He donned his mask with bottom of his helmet clicking into place with his armoured neck and stood up into the light. "The time has arrived."

He walked to the door and left the sack in his room. With a small click, he closed the door behind him.

* * *

S.E.E.S and the mysterious Zatch make their move! What battles will be ensued? Read, review and find out in the next chapter!

P.S. In this version, Theo doesn't meet the female protagonist, I apologise to all Minako/Hamuko fans.


	9. Chapter 9 Battle of the Forest

"Yay! They're coming! They're coming this way!"

In the midst of the forest on Gerra were three shadowed figures in a small clearing between two trees. The roots of the trees were relatively close to each other as two of the figures were sitting on the roots across from each other. The taller one of the two was very tall and well built as his muscles made his bulky structure. The smaller one had his legs crossed and had a fit structure but not as large and bulky as his companion.

The third had long, wavy hair as her body was slim. She was jumping up and down. "Yay! I knew they would come to the forest! I just knew it!"

"Fool." muttered the smaller of the two sitting figures. "That was _my_ idea. Your idea was to burn down every village we get to."

"Oh boohoo!" The standing one pouted. "What matters is that they're coming and we can go on a killing spree! I bet I'll get the first blood!" she squealed.

The tallest figure simply crossed his arms. "..."

The smaller one shook his head. "Fine, but I get the most. I've been on standby for far too long to miss this."

The girl tilted her head in question. "But you're not supposed to be here Dane-sama..."

"I don't care what the higher ups told me. I'm in action and I'm ready to go. Lord Zorn will then praise me for taking this beyond the call of duty."

The girl stood still for several seconds before twirling right to left while holding a shrug. "Okay! In that case, you're automatically the leader for this mission..."

"...Arcana Knight Dane-sama. Hehe!"

_Meanwhile..._

"Are we there yet?" Yuuta wailed out as he trudged his feet along behind the other Persona users.

"For the last time, NO!" Junpei painstakingly answered. "Can you stop asking?" he asked Yuuta with irritation plastered all over his face.

"But we've been wandering this place for three freaking hours!" cried Yuuta. He began to use his sword as a support for his aching body. "I'm sick of being at the back! Can't Reiji or Miwa come back here?"

Aegis kept walking while turning her head to Yuuta. "I'm sorry Yuuta but please be patient. Mitsuru senpai said that the sooner we get out of the forest the better. It's already dark in this forest during the day, so I can't imagine how we are to travel in here at night."

Yuuta hung his head low and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah. But can we at least take a break? My feet are killing me."

"It can't be that bad Yuuta." said Maiko. She happily strolled along without a single of sweat on her brow. "Taking a hike like this is nothing compared to my old school's hikes. We had to walk for hours on end to build up strength and stamina."

Yuuta only became more depressed. "What kind of a school did you go to? A military school?"

S.E.E.S had made their way into the forest without any forms of resistance so far. They had walked through the forest going between trees, climbing over the overgrown roots and avoiding what seemed to be walls and barricades of thorned vines.

Nanako was walking alongside Mitsuru and Ken as she flipped through the documents Zatch had given her. She scanned the document while admiring the complexity and detail the hand written document had. "This... this is amazing. Maps, charts, diagrams, Zatch didn't leave anything to chance."

"It appears so." Mitsuru added. She continued to walk in a brisk pace as she held her sword in her right hand. "I spent a great deal of time analysing those manuscripts. The enemy's entire system schematics are inside them and I plan to put them to good use."

Reiji ducked under an arching root before swinging his metal bat at an invisible enemy. "Come on, I'm ready for you punks..." he growled.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. Reiji turned his head to see a worried Akihiko. "You sure you're okay Reiji?"

Feeling a little embarrassed, Reiji but his bat down. "Sorry sensei. I just feel that we're leaving ourselves too open like this."

Akihiko nodded in understanding and let go of Reiji's shoulder. "Perhaps we are. But our priority right now is to move through this forest as fast as possible. Night will fall soon and moving in this already dark forest would be too difficult. Take it easy, Fuuka will warn us if something comes at us."

Miwa walked by Fuuka as she observed Fuuka's absolute concentration. Fuuka walked with her eyes closed as her hands were in prayer. An outline of Juno could be seen hovering above her as she continued to scan the area around them. Impressed, Miwa gazed at Juno's outline. "My own sensor abilities seem so small compared to Fuuka-san's..."

"Don't keep underestimating yourself Miwa-chan." said Yukari optimistically, who happened to be walking right in front of them. "Mitsuru senpai's Persona used to be a lot like yours in the beginning and then she ended up in the front lines against Nyx. Give yourself some time. You're already a lot like Mitsuru senpai."

Ken Amada walked with his spear in hand as he jumped over a root. He looked around and saw a clearing just up ahead Next to the clearing was a stream of fresh water flowing by. "Mitsuru senpai!" he called out as he pointed to the clearing, "I think we can take a rest over there!"

Turning to see where Ken was pointing, Mitsuru relaxed her walking pace. She turned to face everyone. "Alright, we'll rest up for the moment. Amada, lead the way."

Hearing that from the back, Yuuta gave out a sigh of relief. "Whew! About time..."

The Persona users rested their bodies in the clearing Ken had found. Fuuka still had her hands in prayer, searching for enemies while taking a drink from the stream every once in a while. She sat down next to a sleeping Koromaru. "This forest is just too large to make it through in one day," she muttered, "We might have to campout somewhere for the night."

Yukari was at the edge of the clearing as she heard Fuuka's analysis. "I guess it can't be helped. This forest is way bigger than it looks from the outside. It's a good thing we all brought camping goods."

Nanako was sitting with Mitsuru in the middle of the clearing reading the manuscripts again. "There's so much in here. I don't think I can read it all now..."

"Then perhaps I should tutor you in the most important details." Mitsuru commented. She reached out for the manuscripts and stashed them in a pisyx. "I believe we should start with the Neo-Shadows. Neo-Shadows used to be normal Shadows until they are given necessary enhancements and they have killed their human original." Mitsuru bit her lip at the statement. "According to the manuscripts, there are two ways to identify a Neo-Shadow from their appearance, their black and yellow eyes and they have a red card imbedded somewhere on their bodies."

Nanako thought back to her battle with Slaze. She recalled his black eyes and yellows pupils. Then she remembered the card in his arm.

Mitsuru continued with her lecture. "Now we move on to Zorn's army. The army is composed of almost five thousand Persona users. These numbers include Neo-Shadows. The Persona users are split into twenty platoons and are then given a rank. There is a ranking system within the army. Starting with the lowest, we have the Munifex class. Most new recruits in Zorn's army start off as a Munifex. They are the weakest Persona users and the most common. In short, they're the foot soldiers."

Slaze flashed again in Nanako memory, as she remembered Zatch told him that Zorn had called him a Munifex. "That guy was a foot soldier?" she anxiously asked herself.

Deciding that time was of the essence, Mitsuru went on. "The beings called Neo-Shadows often fall into the Munifex rank. Therefore, a majority of Zorn's forces are composed of Neo-Shadows. Munifexes are given assignments often in large groups. The next rank is the Evocati. They are fewer in number than the Munifex rank and yet they are much stronger. Evocati are trusted with more important missions and can choose to go alone or in a small group. They can lead the Munifex soldiers within their designated platoons. Only a few Neo-Shadows ever get this strong. The third rank, the Eligere Guards, are special. They're a force that removes corruption in the ranks by force, sometimes through execution. They can handle the most classified missions at Zorn's disposal. They have to be as powerful as an Evocati soldier at the very least and must prove their loyalty to Zorn by going through special tests and rituals. Most of the Persona users who attempt these rituals die as a result. Those who live through them can be deemed Eligere Guards."

Mitsuru paused as she took on a serious look. "And then we have the last rank..."

While Mitsuru continued her lecture, Reiji and Akihiko were sparring near the stream. Akihiko was throwing jabs and punches in his traditional boxing style as Reiji avoided them while standing in the same spot. Reiji kept moving his upper body from side to side and from back to front while his movements were mirrored by his afterimages.

Impressed, Akihiko continued jabbing and punching even faster. "Good agility! Keep it up!"

"Can't-" Reiji puffed between punches, "Keep- up- much longer!"

Akihiko swung his right fist for a right hook. Reiji was losing his breath and was almost too slow to predict Akihiko's right hook. At last minute he pulled his head back and Akihiko's fist just scratched Reiji's forehead. As a result, Reiji fell backwards to the ground. "Oof!"

"Ah!" Akihiko realised he went too far. Offering his hand for support, he asked, "You okay Reiji?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Reiji replied after catching his breath and taking Akihiko's hand. With a pull up to his standing position, he commented, "You sure know how to punch, sensei."

Ken was sitting on a nearby arched root watching the sparring session. He smiled and cheerfully commented, "Well, Akihiko wasn't the star of the boxing team for no reason."

Akihiko shrugged his shoulders in a stretch. "That was a long time ago, pretty much old history now. I'm surprised that you managed to evade so many of my attacks Reiji."

"I owe my old man for that." said Reiji as he took hold of his left shoulder and massaged it. From the corner of his eye he spotted something moving from the bushes. He turned to see a four legged animal with small horns. As their eyes met the animal fled into the forest. "Was that a deer?" asked Reiji as he was slightly surprised.

"It was." Aegis answered as she approached them with Maiko and Miwa tagging along. "Mitsuru senpai said that the ecology of Gerra is very similar to Earth's, so it should be no surprise to see similar or same species of animals here. In a forest like this, I'd say that there are probably a lot of creatures that can use camouflage and a handful of nocturnal animals as well. The avian species are most likely stationed in the canopies due to the ground's mass of roots."

Reiji was slightly impressed. "Wow Aegis-san, you sure know a lot about animals."

"That's because Aegis is a highly trained veterinarian." Miwa cheerfully chipped in.

"My ability to communicate with animals has given me great progress in my career." said Aegis. "Of course, I have to keep it a secret from the public, or else everyone will discover my... inorganic structure."

"Guys!"

Everyone turned to see Nanako, Mitsuru, Junpei and Yuuta standing up and preparing to leave. Yuuta was the one shouting. "Time to go! We can't stay here long y'know!"

Miwa rolled her eyes. "And he was the one begging to take a rest..." she whispered to Maiko. Maiko simply smiled and shrugged.

"We'll move out exactly like before." Mitsuru stated. "Iori, Aegis, Minami and Shurei at the back, the rest at the front."

* * *

They made their way through the labyrinth of trees as the sun had begun to set. Red and orange rays of sunlight shone from of what little light was allowed through the leaves of the tree. The Persona Users were beginning to lose a little bit of their sight. Maiko was squinting her eyes, "It's really hard to get around now."

Aegis waved her hand in gesture for Maiko to come closer. "Stay close. I have retained my night vision ability for the last ten years. If we have to keep moving in the dark I'll guide you."

"Thanks Aegis."

Fuuka was still retaining her scanning routine. The effects of long-term scanning were finally catching up to her. Her breath was slightly ragged and drops of sweat ran down her brow.

Nanako turned and worriedly asked, "Are you alright Fuuka-san?"

Mitsuru was just as concerned. "Yamagashi, perhaps another rest is in order. You're our only specialised sensor. We can't lose you to fatigue-"

"I-I'm fine Mitsuru senpai," Fuuka quickly stammered, "And we can't rest until we reach a safe clearing. Stopping in the middle of such a maze will leave us open to attack."

"But Fuuka..." started Ken with worry on his face, "You look like you're about to colla-"

Something clicked in Fuuka's mindscape. Her eyes snapped open as she cried, "S-someone's coming!"

The warning came too late. Small paper spheres soared over them from in front. The spheres landed near S.E.E.S's back line. Which meant Aegis, Junpei, Yuuta and Miwa were surrounded.

Yuuta was confused with the sight of the spheres. "What the-"

Aegis saw the small sparks eating away the tiny amount of rope on each of the spheres. Her eyes widened in mere shock. "Everyone! Run-!"

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!_

The spheres then exploded in small blasts of fire. Though the blasts alone were small, the sheer amount of spheres amplified their ferocity. The four went out of the others' sight as the blasts consumed them.

"Maiko! Yuuta!" Miwa screamed as she lost sight of her friends.

Akihiko ran to the carnage, frantic about the sudden explosions. "Aegis! Junpei! Hang on!"

The smoke and fire cleared away from the bombing sight. Instead of their four comrades inside the chaos, there were two large tunnels in the ground. The tunnels lead deep underground as from the surface you could only see as far as darkness.

"Pitfall traps." Mitsuru claimed in a distressed tone. "The explosions were only to activate them."

Nanako sprinted to the tunnels. "We have to get down there-!"

_CRASH!_

A creature landed over the two tunnels from above. Nanako jumped back as the creature hissed at her. The creature was horribly grotesque as its blue body was held up by two blue humanoid legs and had several tails, some covered in blue scales and others were just bones of a tail. On its back appeared to be six scaled wings that were blue on the top and under it was red. It had four arms with the wrong amount of fingers on each one. Its face was that of a monster. Three yellow eyes, the third in above the gap between the other two, and its mouth were all large canines.

Yukari backed away. She had seen this grotesque freak before, all those years ago in Dark Hour. She fearfully whispered its name, "S-Satan..."

The creature roared and disappeared in a blue flash. Behind where it once stood was man, about five feet tall with blue hair that was in desperate need of a haircut for it was so shaggy you couldn't see the eyes of the man. He wore a jet black hoodie jacket that had the hood torn to shreds and dangling on his back. His jeans were also black and torn. His jacket was left unzipped, revealing his white shirt with an upside down holy cross printed on it. His face was barely visible due to his hair, though the Persona users could make out his nose and mouth was nothing out of the usual. His eyes were light blue.

"He's not a Neo-Shadow..." Reiji hissed. He summoned his bat and held his battle stance with rage apparent on his face, "But he better get out of our way!"

"Heh, you guys look amusing enough." the man muttered. He moved his head around a circle, making a crackling noise from his neck and clapped his hands twice.

The ground suddenly rumbled in a small earthquake. Cracks began all around the Persona users including the blue haired newcomer. The cracks spread their length until they eventually made circles around the Persona users. Nanako felt the earth jerk and she tried to stabilise herself as the circle of ground beneath sprouted into the air. Let a column rising out of the earth, Nanako was lifted upwards. "Whoa!"

"Nanako!" Miwa cried out but then she too was sent into the canopies by the ground sprouted out beneath her.

Reiji unwillingly followed. He tried to get back down but when he was about to jump he realised he was already too far from the ground. The sprouting column took him into the high canopies above.

Ken ran away from the spot he was on in anticipation of the same fate. "Guys!"

But Ken couldn't escape. Then ground he stepped on next suddenly erupted into the sky. Ken lost balance and fell to his knees, unable to escape the growing column of earth. Koromaru jumped on before it went too high for the sake of his fellow team members. "Arf! Arf!"

"Ken!" Akihiko called after him.

The blue haired man chuckled as he too rose up. "I think those five will be enough." He glared down on Yukari, Mitsuru, Akihiko and Fuuka, who remained on the ground as if the earth obeyed his will. "I'll see you guys... soon." Soon after he said that, he was too far out of sight.

"Wait you bastard-!" Akihiko yelled at their attacker but he held his tongue as he spotted something at the corner of his eye. A black substance starting oozing out of all the trees surrounding them. In similar sized blobs the black ooze fell around them. Each one of the piles of black had an Arcana mask.

"Shadows! They must've set this up to separate us!" Fuuka cried out.

Mitsuru gritted her teeth. "Don't waste time fighting all of them! They may be simply Maya Shadows, but they are too many to handle now!" She turned to Akihiko, "Akihiko! Yukari! Go down those tunnels and find the others! Yamagishi, you're with me. We're going to have to get up there and help Amada and the others!"

With nods confirming their orders, Akihiko and Yukari raced to the tunnels as they battled the Shadows in their path. Mitsuru pulled out her Evoker, summoned Artemisia and jumped onto her Persona's shoulder. Holding out her hand to Fuuka, Mitsuru pulled her up onto Artemisia as they rose up after their friends. However, the Mayas weren't going to let them get away. Several were oozing up the trees and jumping towards Mitsuru and Fuuka. Mitsuru lashed out her sword, she wasn't going to waste time and be stopped by a few pitiful Shadows. Artemisia copied her battle stance. "Get out of my way!" Mitsuru roared as she brought her blade up to a Shadow coming from above.

_?_

"Waaaaaaaaaaaagggggggghhhh!" Yuuta cried as he went sliding down the earth made tunnel that he and Junpei fell down only moments ago. The tunnel was on steep angle, so Yuuta and Junpei had no chance of stopping. While tumbling and turning Yuuta shouted, "This isn't fun at all!"

"No shit!" Junpei retorted as he too went sliding down with him. The earth and dirt occasionally hit their face as they went down. Junpei spat as mud splattered into his face, "Pleah!"

The two soon reached the end of the tunnel. Unable to stop, they crashed into the ground just after shooting out of the tunnel exit and into a large, circular chamber of soil and earth.

"Oof!" Yuuta whelped as he hit the floor. He rubbed his head and lifted it to see an old, brown boot in front of him. "Uh, Junpei-san. This isn't your foot... is it?"

Junpei sat up behind Yuuta. "Ah..." Junpei rubbed his shoulders in slight agony, "What do ya mean? I'm right over hereee..." Junpei trailed off as he saw who was in front of Yuuta.

Standing there was a six foot tall man with absolute muscular features. His head was voided of hair as he didn't have any eyebrows either. Strapped to his mouth with leather straps around his head was a metal mouth piece with small holes for air. A bronze chest plate was all he wore at the top and pants were just simple trousers made of black leather. His boots were the very boots Yuuta saw, old and brown ones. The man glared down on them with a very, very hard stare.

"You..." he grunted, making Yuuta and Junpei flinch, "Are... the enemy." He opened up his hand to reveal a blue tarot card. "I... Hitotsu... Evocati of Hermit... will... crush you... with Ippon-Datara." He crushed the card in his hand.

"Move!" Yuuta yelled as he jumped out of the way of a blacksmith's hammer that suddenly appeared as the card was smashed. Junpei jumped up and adjusted his hat as a metal blacksmith with one leg and green skin floated in the chamber. A hammer in his right hand, a claw in his left and his face was obscured by a bronze helmet with a '4' symbol in the right side of it. Another '4' symbol was printed on the brownish black apron the Persona wore. Ippon-Datara hovered in their presence before vanishing back into his master's soul.

Junpei brought out his katana out from his pisyx and went into his old battle stance. "Never saw Minato use that one before..." He reached for his Evoker and aimed it at his head. "Let's find out what it can do!"

_?_

Maiko was freefalling down the tunnel she and Aegis had fallen into with her arms and legs spread out like she was sky diving. Judging by her posture in freefall, she probably had sky dived before. Aegis was upright with her legs bent slightly and her hands in the air. Maiko looked around the tunnel as she continued to fall. "How long have we been falling?" she yelled.

Aegis just stared down. "About two minutes." Her eyes reflected a light from a light source below them. "Get ready, we're about to land!"

As the two left the tunnel Maiko got herself up straight in a somersault as landed on her feet on the ground below perfectly as Aegis did the same. Thanks to their Persona's physical attributes they could take falls almost harmlessly. Maiko brushed her school skirt. She was glad that she was wearing shorts underneath when they fell. She looked up at the tunnel. "Do you think we can get back up?"

Aegis nodded. "If we rode up on our Personas, out of all of S.E.E.S our ability to ride our own Personas are the most adept."

"Hehehe! But that won't help you now!" giggled a girly voice.

Aegis and Maiko flinched and jumped into their stances in the direction where the voice came from. Their eyes saw a teenage girl, no older than Maiko herself, standing a fair bit away from them in the centre of the chamber. Her red hair was tied in twin ponytails, each one on either side of the head. In a yellow tank top and really short jeans, she stood with her legs apart and her hands behind her back. She had fingerless gloves on both hands. Her face was very pretty as her eyes were closed as she had a big smile on her face.

She waved her hand in a childish fashion. "Hi there! I'm Cula! I'm in the Lovers Platoon Evocati division! Did you like the traps I made? They're neat huh?" She slowly opened her eyes to reveal an evil stare with her black eyes with yellow pupils. "I like the way I made these chambers, because they'll be your tombs."

"Neo-Shadow." Aegis growled. Her finger tips dropped off to reveal the gun mussels. She fired.

_Bang! Bang!_

Cula didn't bother to move from her spot. She swiftly arched her back to avoid the first shot and then quickly twirled to avoid the second. She pouted and moaned, "That was meeaann!"

A red tarot card flipped in front of her and she twirled again to smash it with her spinning hand. A green masked woman appeared in red flash with her long purple hair matching her purple pompoms attached to her inner arms. She wore a white vest of a peculiar design and her legs were covered by green and purple tights. Cula lifted her hand and swung it down in the direction of Aegis and Maiko. She shouted, "I'm not going to let you get away! Queen Mab! Zionga!"

Her Persona obeyed and struck out her hand. Lightning came out of her palm and lashed out at Aegis and Maiko.

"Aegis!" Maiko tackled Aegis out of the way before the lightning attack could hit her. The lightning harmlessly hit the ground.

Cula pouted again. "Aww, I could've done much better than that."

As soon she recovered Maiko swung her armoured leg and smashed down on the blue card she summoned. "I'm not going down without a fight! Otrera!"

_?_

The column of earth that Nanako had been risen up on brought her up to the middle of a clearing in the canopy where all the leaves and branches clustered high above ground level. Nanako looked around to see huge branches the size of oak tree trunks reaching out around her. The pillar she stood on rumbled and cracked. With haste she leapt onto one of the branches before the pillar of stone crumbled.

"That was close..." she muttered to herself.

Suddenly more stone pillars came up. The ones carrying Miwa and Reiji crumbled and cracked as they rose. Realising what was happening, they jumped to the nearest branches as their pillars broke. Miwa spotted Nanako from the other side of the clearing. "Nanako!" she called, "Are you alright!"

Nanako waved to her. "I'm okay! Where is everyone?"

It was Ken's and Koromaru's turn to surface. Seeing Nanako, Ken and Koromaru leapt to her. "Everybody okay?" he asked.

Reiji scouted the area with hawk sharp eyes. "This is some mess we just got into..."

"Indeed."

The sudden new voice grabbed everyone's attention. They turned to the centre of the clearing. Rising up on a large circle of ground was the same man they just saw before. He had a cocky grin on his face. "If we weren't in the air, I'd say 'welcome to hell'."

Behind him Reiji pounced towards him with his bat over his head ready to swing at the newcomer. "Yeah? I say 'go back to hell'!" He swung the bat down.

WHACK!

The bat hit, but the man was unfazed. Perhaps it was the fact that he caught the end of the metal bat with only his hand. The man rolled his eyes. "Chill out man."

He swung he arm and sent the bat over into a nearby tree trunk. Fast.

Too fast for Reiji to let go of the bat.

Reiji crashed into the tree and made a nice, big hole that looked almost fitting for squirrels to make a home in. As the dust from the tree cleared it was clear that Reiji was in the trunk lying down in pain. "A-Ah- _cough_!"

The man snorted with the grin still etched to his face. "Well, at least he wasn't so weak that he'd die from that-" Suddenly the man lifted his hand and caught an end of a whip that was about to lash his face off. He turned to see who lashed it out.

Miwa held the other end of the whip with angry, demonic eyes.

"Amatuers." he snorted. He pulled the whip and Miwa was sent flying straight to him as she still hadn't let go of the whip. As Miwa flew towards him he straightened his palm and pushed it into Miwa's stomach. Right after that, Miwa was flying into another tree trunk on the other side of the clearing.

Seeing her friend making another hole like Reiji had, Nanako screamed out, "Miwa!"

She hadn't noticed the foot that was pushing into her own stomach. "Ugh-!"

She went into another tree trunk behind her. Just before where she once stood was the attacker on one leg with his other leg out in front of him. Before Ken or Koromaru could attack, he jumped back in a backwards somersault onto another branch.

In her new made hole Nanako managed to bring herself up with her arms. She saw the man in the black hoodie jacket looking at the new holes.

His grin had turned into a frown. "What the hell is this?" he spat, "Slow reflexes, poor spatial awareness. Hell! I'm not a sensor but I can feel more spiritual power from the dog than you kids! This is like taking candy from a baby-!"

Ken and Koromaru appeared behind him. Ken was had his spear pointed at his head while Koromaru charged at the attacker with a knife in his mouth. The man jumped and went to the other side. Koromaru gave out a howl. "Arroooo!"

Cerberus appeared with its three heads growling at its target. Crashing through the trees the hound showed its metal teeth to its prey by chomping in front of him repetitively. A dark circle appeared before the attacker.

The man merely stood there. His grin came back. "Heh. Foolish dog..."

All of a sudden the circle rebounded and appeared in front of Koromaru. The circle of darkness pierced him but didn't leave even a mark on Koromaru. Koromaru growled again, _"Grrrr..."_

Ken readied his spear and aimed it at their attacker. "Who are you?" he asked in a malicious tone.

The man straightened his clothes and shook his blue hair. "The name's Dane. I'm Arcana Knight number twenty of the Judgement Platoon."

Nanako's eyes widened at the mention of his rank. "A-Arcana Knight number twenty?"

_A while ago..._

"And then we have the last rank..." Mitsuru seriously expressed to Nanako. "The Arcana Knights. They are the top twenty warriors in Zorn's army, each and every one of them lead their own representative platoon. They are considered the most powerful force of Persona users in history and they keep getting stronger." Mitsuru stressed out her last comment, "They are not to be underestimated."

Nanako nodded. She knew if Mitsuru had gotten this serious about the Arcana Knights, they were not to be reckoned with. Nanako slowly asked, "What happens if we encounter one?"

Mitsuru looked down before giving Nanako one of the most serious looks she had seen so far. "Run."

"R-run?"

"No questions, no exceptions." Mitsuru commanded. "Though we do not know how powerful these Arcana Knights are, Zatch has apparently made it very clear that you five newly awakened Persona users don't stand a chance against even the weakest Arcana Knight." Mitsuru closed her eyes and breathed out heavily. "Only experienced Persona users such as Amada, Akihiko and the rest of the senior members of S.E.E.S have a... decent chance of battling them."

Mitsuru opened her eyes. "And one more thing," she began, "There are five Arcana Knights you definitely have to avoid at all costs." She drew on the ground with her finger and wrote five Roman numerals. She drew the numbers I, II, V, XIII and XX. "According to the manuscripts, the Arcana Knights can be identified with the numbers they are designated with, from one to twenty. However, there is a big jump in power between the five most powerful knights and their fifteen other comrades. The five most powerful knights' numbers are written here."

She pointed at the I Roman numeral. "Number one, Tozu..."

She moved her finger to the II numeral. "Number two, Esther..."

Onto the V numeral. "Number five, Meguri..."

She went on to the XIII symbol. "Number thirteen, Nero..."

And finally, she came to the XX numeral.

"And number twenty, Dane..."

_The present..._

Nanako's breathing went faster and harder as she heard who their attacker was. Several thoughts went through her mind but only a few made any sense.

Arcana Knight. Twenty. Mustn't fight him no matter what. "Ken-san!" she screamed, "Get away from him!"

"Nanako?" Ken turned and looked at her puzzled. He shook off his questioning look as Dane produced a white sword with a handle made of bone and swung it down on Ken. Ken managed to just block the downward strike with his spear held up in both hands.

_Clang!_

The two pushed their weapons against the other to win the higher ground. Then gave off a wicked smile. "Satan, Megidoloan..."

Ken's eyes widened as Satan appeared and cast his hands down on him with immense blue energy. Unable to dodge, he had to take the attack full on.

"KEN-SAN!" Nanako screamed as the blue energy hit her mentor.

Ken jumped out of the carnage. His clothes were still intact but smoke was coming off it. His breath was heavy and he staggered as he landed on another branch. _'What power!'_ he thought astounded, '_There's no doubt he's one of the top of his rank.'_

Dane lifted his right hand to take a look at it. A small trickle of blood ran down it as he narrowed his eyes at it. He smiled, "Impressive, you survived Satan's Megidoloan and you managed to hit me in the process. You ain't no amateur."

"H-how..." Ken breathed out, "How did you summon like that? I didn't see you use an Evoker or crush a card."

"Ah." Dane seemed eager to answer Ken's question. "It's a trait within the top five knights. Usually any Persona user has to trigger a summoning. That can be done with card crushing or the use of what you call Evokers. But," he smiled wildly, "If a Persona user is powerful enough, he or she can summon without either triggers. We can just summon with our wills! That kind of technique is only achievable for the most powerful of Persona users! You see! I am-!"

He stopped as Cerberus appeared behind him. He turned only to see the three headed hound throw its paw at him. "Satan!"Dane shouted.

Satan came down and blocked the attack with its scaly arms. As the two Personas fought, Dane cackled and turned back to Ken. "You sly bastard! You got me monologuing like an idiot!"

Ken twirled his spear and readied his Evoker. "Thanks Koromaru. Kala-Nemi! Use Ziodyne!"

He pulled the trigger and the orange robot came to reality. With a swing of its arms a bolt of lightning came down on the Arcana Knight. Not waiting for his master's command, Satan threw away the paw of Cerberus, grabbed Dane and lifted into the air letting the lightning bolt pass. Ken cursed under his breath. He readied his Evoker again. "You'll pay for hurting my students..." he growled before firing another shot.

_Junpei and Yuuta's battle..._

"Go on Zephyrus! Kill Rush!" Yuuta cried out as he smashed his tarot card with his sword. Zephyrus came in a blue flash as his bike roared to life and went charging at the man who named himself Hitotsu. Hitotsu didn't move. Instead he put out his hands and took on Zephyrus's Kill Rush head on. He grabbed the front of the bike and held his ground, even though the ground below him was being dug into as Hitotsu's feet kept their position while being pushed back by the Persona.

"Guh!" Hitotsu grunted. He managed to hold off the attack with one hand as his other one was held out with his own card. "Rampage..."

Ippon-Datara appeared as his summoner crush his blue card. The Persona began to spin wildly with its hammer in its hand. It quickly made its way to Yuuta.

"Oh crap!" Yuuta exclaimed as Ippon-Datara swung its hammer at him. Yuuta called back Zephyrus in order to move with the highest of speed. But he was one step too slow. Ippon-Datara's hammer swung at him and was about to make impact.

"SSKKRRREE!"

A red humanoid Persona with a head of a golden hawk blocked the hammer with its golden wing. Junpei darted to Yuuta and stood ready with sword in his own hand to defend Yuuta. "Don't get ahead of yourself kid. This guy's got more up his sleeve than he appears to have."

Yuuta grimaced as he understood what his teacher meant. "I know. I didn't expect him to take on Zephyrus's Kill Rush attack with his bare hands. You the hell are we going to take him out?"

Junpei gritted his teeth. "I tried fire spells but he's resistant to them. Our best chance it to keep rampaging on him till he passes out. He may be our enemy, but we can't kill another human."

Yuuta readied his battle stance. "Easier said than done..."

Hitotsu slowly lifted his hand and pointed at Yuuta. "You... are... weak. Let the... taller one... fight."

Yuuta didn't take that very well. "...What did you just say?" he asked in a controlled but fiery tone.

"Oh boy..." Junpei lowered the end of his baseball cap over his head and grimaced. "How about it kid? You gonna take that or throw it back at him?"

"Whatever do you mean Junpei?" Yuuta growled. He went into a sprint with his card ready in his hand. "I'm gonna throw it back at him of course!"

"Ippon-Datara..." Hitotsu moaned as he crushed his own card.

"Zephyrus!"

The two Personas clashed as Ippon-Datara held Zephyrus's charging bike at bay. Yuuta swung his sword upwards at Hitotsu. Hitotsu held out his arms with his hands open ready to catch the blade. And considering his earlier feat of blocking Zephyrus, he looked very capable of catching Yuuta's sword. But Yuuta had anticipated that.

"Garu!" He shouted. Zephyrus twisted the handles of his motorcycle and smoke burst out of the motorcycle's pipes. The wind picked up around the enemy and spun in a twister shape. Hitotsu's eyes widened as the wind attack came. He pulled back his hands and was about to jump back out of the twister but he realised he somehow couldn't move backwards. He turned his head to see Yuuta blocking his escape with both hands pressing against his shoulders.

Yuuta snickered. "Gotcha."

The wind attack hit. The twister spun up and Hitotsu was directly hit. The winds were like blades to his skin as slashes appeared on his body. Blood seeped out of the wounds and Hitotsu coughed out blood out of what his mouth piece allowed to come out. Hitotsu shook off Yuuta in one big swing. Blood dripped out of the metal mouth piece, but Hitotsu showed no sign of giving up. It was either the card on his hand or the fact he wasn't breathing that hard that made it obvious.

"Oh c'mon!" Yuuta complained after he jumped over to Junpei's position. "That had to hurt! Why aren't you yelling in pain?"

"I..." Hitotsu began, "Don't... feel... pain. Took... pain nullifier... before coming..."

Yuuta cringed. "Okaaay... we're fighting a Persona user who can't feel pain because he's jacked on drugs." He turned to Junpei. "You got any more bright ideas?"

Junpei shrugged and slapped Yuuta's back. "I'll think of something. It's my turn now." He readied his Evoker. "Trismegistus! Gigantic Fist!"

Trismegistus came down and soared around the room in all its red and golden glory before soaring towards Hitotsu. This time Hitotsu jumped out of the way and rushed towards Junpei with clenched fists. Junpei activated his Evoker again, "Marakukaja!"

Purple light enveloped both Junpei and Yuuta before Hitotsu landed a straight punch to Junpei's stomach.

Junpei was thrown back but not very far thanks to the defence boost of Marakukaja. He dragged his feet as he was pushed back and coughed, "Ugh!" He shook off his pain and pulled the trigger again. "Again! Gigantic Fist!" The red and gold Persona took to the skies again and aimed its attack at its enemy.

Hitotsu couldn't get out of the way in time. The Persona's attack got him dead on and he was sent to the other side of the room, crashing and making an imprint of his back in the wall. But still he did not fall. He bled more as he fell out of the indent he made in the wall and his hands twitched slightly but he shook the surprise off and crushed his card. "Mamudo..."

Ippon-Datara lifted its head as if it was yelling to the sky and the centre of the floor was suddenly covered in a dark veil of energy.

"Ah crap! Run!" Junpei ordered. He jumped out of the circle walls of the room.

Yuuta was in bigger trouble. Yuuta was too far in the circle to simply run as the darkness was about to turn on him. He needed to get out and fast. "Yuuta, get outta there!" Junpei yelled as he realised he hadn't brought Yuuta along with him.

Deciding to do it with his Persona, he crushed his card and cried, "Garu!" The wind spun and spiralled around him and when it went up in attack the force sent Yuuta out of the circle just before the darkness suddenly condensed and faded. "T-that..." Yuuta breathed out as he winced, "...was way too close."

Ippon-Datara shivered and twitched as it looked as if it was screaming out. And scream it did. "SSSKKKRRRRRREEEE!"

Hitotsu mimicked its posture. "GRRAAAHHH!"

"Whoa man!" Junpei shouted as he covered his ears. "No need to get so upset!"

"GGRRAAAHH!" Hitotsu clutched his head in pain. His eyes bulged and the veins on his head grew hard. "Ippon-Datara! RAMPAGE!"

The hammer of Hitotsu's Persona pounded the ground again and again. The earth splintered in huge chunks and the chunks were bounced into the air by the force of the hammer. Ippon-Datara twirled wildly and smashed its hammer into the chunks of splintered earth. The earth chunks exploded and shards went flying everywhere in all directions. Junpei's eyes widened after he realised what Hitotsu was doing. Like military shrapnel, the shards jabbed into Yuuta and Junpei's bodies.

Junpei was the first one to be hit. Two jabbed into his left leg as his right hand was hit by another shard. He stumbled back and fell on the floor. He clutched his leg in intense pain. "Argh!"

"Guh!" Yuuta spat. His arms had a large splinter in each upper arm. Blood had spluttered out of both wounds. Yuuta staggered forward. He gritted his teeth. "I..." he panted, "...made a promise...'_pant'_ get home..._ 'pant'_ and protect Nanako... Maiko... Reiji..." he winced and brought up his head with gritted teeth, "... and..._'pant'_ even Miwa..."He grabbed both of the shards in both of his bleeding arms. "So I'm not dying here! Grah!"

He tore the shards out of arms and threw back the blood soaked shards at Hitotsu. Not responding to Yuuta's cry, Hitotsu crushed his card again. "Agilao..."

A fire ball formed in front of him from thin air. Ippon-Datara swung its hammer and whacked the fire ball at Yuuta.

But the flames were dispelled as a red and gold man appeared in front of Yuuta. The fire ball harmlessly dispersed as Trismegistus floated and guarded Yuuta. Yuuta looked back to see Junpei who was still on the ground holding his Evoker to his head. Junpei had a proud smirk on his face. "Nice speech kid. Could've done it better myself, but I'll let you have the spotlight."

Hitotsu kept crushing his card and more fire balls formed and flew towards Yuuta. But Trismegistus still stood loyally on guard and took all the fire balls head on. Yuuta bit his lip as the barrage continued. _'Junpei can't hold Trismegistus here forever. I need to take care of Hitotsu now. But how?'_ Hitotsu's earth bomb trick ran through Yuuta's memory. Yuuta's mind clicked and he turned to Junpei. "Junpei! Can you make Trismegistus do the same thing as that Hitotsu freak can? Y'know, the ground pounding thing?"

Junpei looked at Yuuta with a questioning expression. "Uhh... I guess. But what are you gonna do?"

"Just watch!" Yuuta ordered. "Do the same thing as Hitotsu did! I got this!"

Junpei panted and paused for thought. After shaking his head he held his Evoker up. "Alright then! Mano a Mano! Let's do this! Gigantic Fist!"

After a pull of the trigger Trismegistus stopped hovering and pounded the ground with its armoured legs.

"Again!" Junpei commanded.

Trismegistus pounded the earth a second time and soon got the drift. It smashed the earth again and again, forcing the leftover shards of earth from Hitotsu's earth bomb to bounce higher and higher off the ground.

"Here it goes..." Yuuta whispered to himself. He readied his card and sword and closed his eyes in concentration. A blue aura surrounded him like mist that twirled like a twister.

Hitotsu didn't want whatever Yuuta was about to do. "Rampage!"

Ippon-Datara swung his hammer in an uncontrollable rampage just like last time and it slowly made its way to Yuuta. Yuuta opened his eyes and crushed his card with his sword. "This will be my strongest Garu! Zephyrus!"

The biker came to Yuuta's side and went full throttle towards Hitotsu. The wind picked up around the Persona, swirling and twirling. Soon enough the wind tornado was shaped like a drill on top of Zephyrus. The spiral of wind surrounding Zephyrus picked up the shards of earth that were made by Trismegistus and Ippon-Datara's pounding. The shards collided with each other and became smaller and smaller, eventually becoming as small as sand. Ippon-Datara continued to bang his hammer as Zephyrus zoomed towards him. The one-legged blacksmith brought down its hammer on Zephyrus, resulting in a clash between metal and air. As the sand slashed and wore down the metal at high speeds sparks flew between the two Personas. Ippon-Datara held its ground but was slipping back from the sheer force of Zephyrus's sand and wind attack.

Hitotsu wavered and staggered. The Persona's showdown was draining most his energy. He fell to one knee and widened his eyes in determination.

"Trismegistus!"

Yuuta turned and saw Junpei had once again pulled the trigger of his Evoker. Trismegistus soared upwards before diving into Ippon-Datara. The blacksmith Persona was battered by the flying Trismegistus and lost balance. Zephyrus ran through Ippon-Datara, smashing the Persona into blue glass shards.

Zephyrus didn't stop there. The charging motorcycle charged at Hitotsu at full speed with the wind and sand drill kept in place and motion. Hitotsu was too exhausted from his Persona's clash that he couldn't get up from his kneeling position. The attack hit him dead on.

"Gah!" Hitotsu spat. He tried to hold down the attack but the speed of the flying sand tore up the skin of his hands. Zephyrus ran straight through him with the wind and sand making scratches and cuts all over Hitotsu's body.

The wind settled as Zephyrus vanished. Hitotsu stood there bleeding all over. He took a slow step forward with his damaged boot. Then another slow step forward.

Yuuta could only stand in his spot as he was just as tired. _'Dammit! I don't have any strength left...'_

Hitotsu was only a few feet away from Yuuta. The two stared at each other with dead but serious eyes. Junpei tried to get up but his energy was all used up. "Yuuta!"

Hitotsu was close enough. He lifted his fist in the air. Yuuta closed his eyes and braced himself for the finish. He waited for the fist to fall. Three seconds passed. Then ten seconds passed. Nothing. Yuuta slowly opened his eyes to see what had stopped Hitotsu from hammering him. And he saw what had never expected to see.

Hitotsu had his hand open in front of Yuuta, waiting for a handshake. "You..." Hitotsu murmured, "Are... strong..." His eyes slowly closed and he fell to his side to the ground.

Junpei and Yuuta stayed still, amazed at what their opponent had done. After a long period of silence, Junpei managed to bring himself up and stagger his way to Yuuta. Putting a hand on his shoulder he said, "Not bad kid. Not bad at all."

Yuuta nodded and smiled. "Thanks..." he dropped to his knees and then to his side with his eyes closed.

"Yuuta!" Junpei exclaimed. "You alright?"

"_Zzzzzzzzzzzzz..."_

Yuuta soundly snored. His eyes were peacefully and blissfully closed in sleep.

Junpei sighed heavily. "You moron, don't worry your teacher like that..."

_Maiko and Aegis's battle with Cula..._

"Athena! Matarukaja!"

Aegis summoned Athena and both her and Maiko with enveloped in a gentle orange light. Maiko charged at Cula with a full force kick. Cula swiftly ducked under Maiko's leg before the kick smashed in the wall next to her. "Ohhhh!" Cula cooed, "That would've been bad if I was hit by that!"

She shut her mouth as she saw an arrow aimed at her head right in front of her. Maiko jumped back as her Persona, Otrera, kept aiming at Cula with her bow and arrow. "Holy Arrow!" Maiko shouted. Otrera released her arrow.

Cula brought back her head and jumped backwards out of the arrow's way. Landing perfectly unharmed, she crushed her own card and pointed at Aegis. "Zionga!"

Queen Mab materialized with her palm directed at Aegis. The Persona pushed her hand forward and lightning came out of her palm. The robotic Persona user leapt up as the lightning bolt struck the ground. Landing besides Maiko, Aegis regained her battle posture. "This isn't good. She's kept me pinned down with her Zio skills, which only gives me the choice of becoming struck by them and becoming immobile or dodging them. I can only lend you support from here on out Maiko."

Maiko nodded. "That's alright. If I can pin her down in one place for a few seconds I can take her out. But she's too fast and agile. I can't seem to get her to stay still when I attack."

Cula grinned childishly at the indirect compliments she was getting. "Aw, thank you! It's nice to know that I'm fighting such appreciative people!" She suddenly threw away her childish antics and replaced it with a more serious and evil face. "Too bad I couldn't enjoy this for too long." She took off the glove on her left hand to reveal a red tarot card imbedded on the backside of her hand.

Maiko saw the card and her fight with Slaze ran through her memories. The red card imbedded in Slaze's arm frightened her somehow. Cula's card had the same effect. Maiko charged at Cula in an attempt to stop her. "I won't let you-!"

"Too late." Cula murmured "Come to me Queen Mab." She brought her right hand to her left hand and crushed the card imbedded in her. The yellow colour of her pupils consumed the black of her eyes. Black mist erupted from everywhere with a sound of gust and gathered around Cula's body, consuming her. "Ahahahaha!"

Maiko was suddenly thrown back by the black mist. She couldn't get any closer than where she was now.

Aegis stared at the commotion with bewildered eyes. "What's happening!" she yelled.

The black mist suddenly dispersed into thin air. What it left behind caught Maiko and Aegis's attention.

About three times taller that Aegis stood what could've been mistaken as Queen Mab, but there were details that proved that it wasn't the Persona. Queen Mab's formally smooth purple hair was now darker and more twisted. Her shawl had large tears in it as if she had been beaten. The face of the womanly creature had the left half of Queen Mab's original mask, but the right half held the face of Cula and her yellow eye.

Standing there with her fingers twitching and a smirk on her face, the Queen Mab creature cried out, "I am a Shadow! And this is my true form! My true self!"

* * *

Author's notes: I might've been a little late to update this. My apologies.

I know Ippon-Datara is relatively weak, but I needed him to match the oppentent I had in my mind. Befoer you say Junpei could've taken Hitotsu down easily, just remember that it would be boring just like that. Let's say that Junpei's still strong but Hitotsu was just strong enough to challenge Junpei.

And now for the part where I make a note to excite the fanfic:

The first major battle on Gerra! Nanako and the others are seperated, Maiko now has to face the new dangers of Neo-Shadow Cula, and Ken now fights Dane, who happens to be one of the five most powerful Persona Users in the enemy force! Can Nanako and the others live through this new threat or will their battle be cut short? Read, review and await the next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10 Battle of the Forest 2

Author's notes: Late late late! I know! I know! Sorry about the two months of nothing guys. But studying for exams and preparing for next year really gets a guy out of his writing mood. Don't worry, I'm not going to let this fanfic die that easily! This is a fanfic that must be read! Reviews always make me want to write so don't hesitate to do so!

* * *

"Damn you!" Akihiko yelled at the Maya Shadow with the mask of Arcana Magician. The mask which was then smashed in by a swing of Akihiko's Wings of Vanth. Akihiko swung his hand out of the Shadow's head and punched another hole into the next Maya Shadow. Akihiko kept punching the oncoming swarm of Shadows that blocked both him and Yukari from getting down the tunnel that was made by the paper bomb explosions. "They're endless! They keep coming in from walls!"

"We can't stop now!" Yukari shouted as she fired an arrow into a Shadow coming from behind. "Aegis and the others are still down there!" She pulled out her Evoker and fired. "Isis! Garudyne!" The tunnel gave away to a Yukari's Persona, expanding and crumbling under the sudden pressure of the summoning as Isis lifted its wings indicating that it was conjuring the spell.

The wind suddenly picked up and drilled through the Shadows in front of Akihiko and Yukari in a twister shape. Taking the opportunity, Akihiko and Yukari rushed down the steep tunnel when the Shadows dissipated.

But the Shadows weren't going to go easy on them. As soon as the remains of the last wave disappeared in black smoke more black ooze came from walls of the tunnel.

Akihiko was getting impatient. "We've got no time for this." he growled, gritting his teeth. He raised his Evoker. "Maziodyne!"

* * *

_Mitsuru and Fuuka's position..._

Fuuka kept her eyes closed and her hands in prayer as Juno shielded her from all of the Maya Shadows that were dropping down on her. Fuuka stood on a large branch with Juno protecting her while she felt the surrounding presences. She then opened her eyes and pointed upwards at the tree opposite her. "Over there!" she shouted.

Mitsuru Kirijo jumped from below and pulled the trigger of her Evoker. "Artemisia! Bufudyne!"

Artemisia arrived in a blue flash and she flung her whip at the tree that Mitsuru had declared a target. Thick ice immediately froze the whole tree over and soon after it shattered into hundreds of pieces. As the tree fell apart blobs of Maya Shadows came down with it.

Mitsuru landed beside Fuuka and she sliced the Shadows on Juno with her rapier. After the Shadows dissipated Mitsuru brandished her rapier. "No measly Shadow can hide from your scans Yamagishi," she complimented. She then looked up and she bit her lip in worry. "I hope Amada and everyone else can hold on until we get there..."

Fuuka nodded in agreement but she then suddenly became afraid. "More Shadows incoming!"

* * *

_The forest treetops..._

Ken swung around with his spear in hand trying to get a hit on the Arcana Knight Dane. Dane held up his bone-handle sword while pushing against the flat side and blocked the spear's bladed end. The two weapons met in a clashed. Ken swung further and the spear slid off the sword while igniting sparks.

Dane jumped back onto a higher branch and cocked his head. "Satan! Agidyne!"

A blue flash gleamed in the air and then Satan's hands whipped out to its sides. The mere gesture ignited huge flames to the leaves and branches around Satan. The flames came together and flew towards Ken in a fire ball.

Out of the shadows of the trees leapt Koromaru Jr. with his fangs gritted. From the other side of the treetops the red-eyed dog had jumped and landed in front of Ken taking the fire ball on himself. The fireball hit Koromaru in a large explosion that flared and faded to black smoke. As the smoke cleared Koromaru and Ken appeared, unscratched and unburned. A blue shimmer and outline of Cerberus covered the two Persona users before it faded along with the smoke.

Ken knelt down and patted Koromaru on the head while keeping a strict and serious stare on their enemy. "Thanks boy..."

Koromaru barked in response but then glared at Dane with the red-eyes if his father.

Dane swung down his sword and looked down on the teacher and dog below him. "You guys really are stubborn bastar-"

He was cut short as he caught a blue flash from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to his right to see a shining female Persona swinging her whip in his direction. Miwa was behind the Persona calling out, "Hippolyta! Bufu!"

Hippolyta cracked the wipe in her hand after shards of ice formed on the ends of it. With the swing of the whip the shards flew towards the man in the black hoodie at great speed.

Dane quickly brought up his right fist and let the shards hit his fist. As each icicle hit they shattered into tinier pieces while Dane's hands was unmarred.

'_Bare-handed?' _Miwa thought in frustration, _'I guess Nanako wasn't kidding when she said we shouldn't fight this guy.' _Miwa jumped away from the branch she was standing on and hid herself among the trees to avoid retaliation. _'But it's a little late for that now...'_

"Sonic Punch!"

Gilgamesh charged out of the trees, crashing through the trunks and thick branches to meet his mark. The juggernaut of a Persona swung its fist at Dane the moment he was in his sights. Dane was about to use Satan to counter the punch when Reiji's voice rang out, "Add a Zio to it, Gilgamesh!"

Gilgamesh's fist was suddenly wrapped in blue bolts of electricity. With the electrical energy coursing through the fist the punch suddenly accelerated and went faster.

Dane didn't have enough time to block so he decided to retreat into one of the holes made by one of the teenagers he had kicked into before. Landing right foot first he glanced at the spot where he just was. Instead of seeing a branch and Reiji nearby he saw a pulverised and smoking stump that grew sideways out of the tree. And before he forgot to analyse, there was no Reiji.

Dane whistled at the destruction. "Damn, that might've not been enough to knock me out but it sure would've hurt..." he muttered.

Nanako hid behind one of the large trees as she readied her claws. _'So far so good...'_ she thought to herself, _'If Ken-san and Koro-chan can hit him head on while the rest of us use a hit and run strategy, I think we can win this. I just have to make sure that Dane doesn't become serious-'_

"Okay!" Dane bellowed as he brushed his hand through his hair, "Time to ditch the dogs and find the mice."

Nanako bit her lip at Dane's declaration. '_No! Not now! If he comes after us we'll be-' _

Nanako suddenly felt an aura of blood-lust from behind her. She flinched at the voice that said, "I got you, little mouse."

Nanako felt the wind shift as Dane lifted his sword for the kill. Unable to escape, she closed her eyes and turned to face death head on with her claws ready as the sword came down.

CLANG!

Nanako was surprised to hear that sound. She moved her claws slightly forward to see whether her arms are still intact confirming that she still had her arms and there was no weight of a sword bearing down on her. She opened her eyes and saw a huge robotic arm shielding her from the attack. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she saw to see that it was Ken who was beside her. Ken nodded his head to her in an affirmative way and turned his attention to Dane. "Attack my students again and I'll make you a new grave..."

Dane simply smirked as he pulled away. "Try it, you second-rate teacher."

* * *

_Aegis and Maiko's location..._

"W-wha... What is that?"Aegis asked in a scared state. Her optics were bright and wide as it identified the new creature before them.

"Hahahahaha!" the creature that had once been either Queen Mab or Cula laughed out with a hint of insanity in it. "This is what separates us Neo-Shadows and humans! While we wear the human skin of our original selves we all have a true from to return to!" Cula raised the new arms she gained in her transformation and sparks of electricity started to fly between them. "Zionga!"

The sparks flew at the android girl once again. Returning to her senses, Aegis jumped out of the way and lifted her head upwards. "I need your help! Athena!"

The shielded Persona answered the call and bolted spear first at the Neo-Shadow. Cula smirked before grabbing the spear at the pole. She twisted her hips, sending Athena the other way, and threw out her palm with more sparks charged up at Aegis. "Gotcha!"

The lightning attack finally got a hit on its mark. The electricity sprung from Cula's hand towards Aegis. Aegis couldn't bring back Athena fast enough and she was struck and electrocuted by Cula's Zionga. The shock was sent to her inner mechanisms, causing Aegis to stagger and fall to the ground while her limb joints sparked with electric bursts. And it hurt. "AAAAAAHHH!"

"Aegis!" Maiko yelled out as she rushed to her mentor's side.

Cula turned her attention to Maiko. Wagging her finger she whispered, "Oh, I don't think so. Tentarafoo."

Maiko wasn't sure about what happened next. A rainbow like wave surrounded her and then the colours of the stone room around her began to change. The room became vividly yellow and then it morphed into a green light and then the colours went distorted altogether as Maiko could only see swirls of every colour known to man. "W-what's going on?" she hesitantly asked herself.

Cula was happy to answer anyway. "Hyah ha ha! You're caught under my Tentarafoo human," she hissed, "Normally when someone is under Tentarafoo the victim becomes delusional and he or she won't be able to tell friend or foe. But if I cast Tentarafoo in my true form..."

Maiko's ears drowned out Cula's words as Maiko's world slowly went black. She looked around but it was the same everywhere, nothing but black.

... Then you lose all sense of direction and sight. Of course, you probably can't hear me by now." A smirk crawled its way onto Cula's face as she turned to Aegis. "And now I can finish you without that bimbo interrupting."

"M-Maiko..." Aegis groaned in desperation. She called Maiko again but she got no response. Aegis attempted to move but the Zionga that had hit her earlier was still interfering with her movement mechanisms. A sharp pain aroused from her hip joints when she tried to push herself upwards. Aegis hissed and looked up at Cula as she moved closer and closer.

Cula's smirked had turned into a wide grin by then. In a playful tone she whispered, "This is going to be so fun."

Maiko twisted and twirled in every direction, but still she saw nothing but black. The silence around her was frightening and the sudden loss of sense of direction wasn't helping. _'Keep calm Maiko!'_ she mentally shouted at herself, _'Focus and evaluate the situation no matter how bad it looks! Just like how Minato taught you!'_ Maiko took a deep breath and did what she told herself to do. _'Alright, I can't see, I can't hear...'_ she sniffed, _'I can't smell either.'_ She shuffled her feet and felt the rocky floor beneath her. _'I still have my sense of touch but I can't do anything with that when I don't know where that Neo-Shadow is-'_ then something clicked in her mind along her train of thought. _'Wait, that's it!'_

Cula brought down her fists onto a helpless Aegis while laughing her head off hysterically. Normally Aegis could've taken the hits better than this but Cula's new form was three times bigger than her, making the punches almost devastating. Cula kicked Aegis in the gut and sent her flying across the room. Aegis landed with a thud and managed to moved her arms better than before, but the pain from the attacks was coursing through her body. "Ugh..." she moaned as she struggled to push herself up.

Cula steadily walked towards Aegis in her true form. She pulled her wild purple hair away from her face and revealed more of the human side of her face. Aegis saw her eyes, the eyes of a madwoman.

"I'm gonna tear you apart bit by bit, gear by gear until I find out what gives you that lovely personality of yours," Cula squealed, "I love finding out what makes human machines tick."

Aegis offered her last bit of resistance by summoning Athena. In surprise Cula stepped back as Athena pointed her spear at her. Aegis whispered, "Though I am made of gears and metal, I am far more than a machine now. I am human."

Cula scowled at Aegis's input. "What? Do you realise what you're saying? You are a machine! Not a disgusting human! You don't know how lucky you are! Humans are nothing but lower class organisms that are hypocritical and liars by nature! Shadows and androids are far cleaner and pure than those dirty humans!" She raised her head and clenched her fists. "I was absolutely disgusted by my human host. She did nothing but prance around towns all over Gerra, looking for rich and powerful men. After fifteen years of being a Shadow to that bimbo I decided to matters into my own hands! I found Lord Zorn and he blessed me with such power! The power of Queen Mab! I killed my host and took her image as my own, to redeem myself for being an insignificant Shadow! That's how we will cleanse all worlds! Suppression of humans and the rising of a new species! Neo-Shadows!"

Aegis narrowed her eyes in pity. "I see. You have missed your chance to live then."

The moment the words had passed Aegis's lips Cula had thrown her head back in her direction. "You wretch! Forget about looking at your insides! I'm going to demolish you!"

Aegis didn't wait. "Not just yet! God's Hand!" Her Persona pointed her spear upwards to the sky and a humungous fist of gold appeared above Cula and slammed down on her.

A cloud of dust formed over the sudden attack, concealing what had been created or destroyed by the impact. Aegis's limbs stopped sparking as the dust began to settle. She pushed herself up and leaned herself on the wall while she looked down on the ground. "That was close..." she muttered.

"Yes, yes it was."

Aegis tensed up at the cold and high-pitched voice. She twirled her attention to the dust cloud where the voice had come from. A large silhouette came into view as the dust diffused from the disaster area. Cula stepped out of the cloud and revealed her slightly battered body, though her left arm was in a more severe state as it was literally hanging by a thread of her vest.

"That attacked would've killed me if I didn't block it at last minute," Cula said as she used her good hand to point at her dangling one, "Just look at it. It really hurt you stupid android!" Cula pointed at Aegis with a rage on her face. "I promise I'm going to electrocute you again and again!" Then Aegis froze again as she saw something that her eyes didn't want to believe.

The dangling arm was the one pointing at her.

The threads of the vest moved on their own, tangling with the other threads of the cloth on the arm. The threads pulled the arm back to the body and stitched the arm back into place. Cula flexed the arm out and gave a nod of satisfaction. "The thing I really like about being a Neo-Shadow is that we all have regeneration abilities... to some extent. It's not as alert and fast as human regeneration but it's very handy. Now then," Cula widened her eyes in glee at Aegis, "To keep my promise."

The Neo-Shadow raised her palm at Aegis with an electrical charge coursing through it. Aegis tried to summon again but her mind was so tired and strained. She shook her head as she tried to move away.

Cula sneered. "You're probably tired from all the power increasing spells you did before. That makes this all too easy." The electricity in her palm suddenly increased in power and size. "Goodbye, defective trash."

"Swift Strike!"

A barrage of arrows came down from the entire ceiling like rain. The arrows hit Cula and threw her aim off course. Aegis was also hit by the rain if arrows but her resistance to physical damage help her pull through with almost no damage. Cula screamed as the barrage had swiftly come to an end with her body covered in arrows made of blue glass. "What on Gerra-!"

"Muzzle Shot!" Maiko cried out from the far end of the room with and her eyes closed and her hand directed at Cula. Otrera appeared with darkness shrouding her eyes. Even so, she readied her bow and fired where her master pointed.

The arrow hit its mark as Cula fell to the ground with an arrow stuck in her arm. "Aahh! H-how is she hitting me? She can't even see right now!"

Maiko continued her assault, "Twin Shot!"

Two more arrows pierced Cula's abdomen, spurting out black blood when they went through. "AARRRGHHH!" Cula screamed.

Aegis watched in amazement as Maiko threw more of Otrera's arrows into Cula. _'How is Maiko doing that?'_ she asked herself, _'She's still blind. But she's hitting Cula without missing...'_

Then from the corner of her optics she saw the arrows from Otrera's Swift Strike were still in the room. _'These arrows should be gone by now...'_

Then it clicked. _'That's it!'_ Aegis exclaimed in her head, '_Maiko hasn't dismissed the arrows because she can feel them! She's using her senses to pinpoint who's the enemy by using the location of each arrow!'_

Maiko stepped back and mentally ordered her Persona to keep firing. In her black world she thought to herself, '_The smaller one is Aegis and it looks like she hasn't sustained too much damage from my attack. I'm going to have to apologize later anyway.'_ With that thought she smirked and pointed to where she could feel Cula's presence. "Agi!" she shouted.

Otrera's arrow ignited with flame and she stretched it back in the bow as far as she could. Her fingers released the bow and the flaming arrow flew with great speed. Cula looked up and saw the arrow coming her way... only to find it under her throat and between her shoulders a second later. She tried to cough and scream but that came out of her mouth were flames. She fell to the ground as the arrows embedded all over her body cracked into blue glass shards.

"Damn," Maiko silently muttered, "I couldn't hold them any longer."

The flames went out in Cula's throat and she spat out black blood before she thrust her head in Maiko's direction. She gritted her teeth fiercely as her human eye and Queen Mab's eye were widened in sheer anger. "You bitch! I don't know how much luck you have in hitting me but you're not going to get away with this! Zionga!" An electrical charge ran through Cula's whole body and then jumped towards Maiko.

The lightning bolt struck Maiko and continued to run from Cula to Maiko. "Aaaaahhhhh!" Maiko screamed.

"Maiko!" Aegis called out. Aegis dragged herself along the stone wall to get to her disciple. She stopped halfway through as she realised that she wouldn't be of any help. Aegis bit her lip as she watched the lightning jump from Cula to Maiko. "Isn't there anything I can do?"

Aegis bit her lip at the helplessness of the situation. But that didn't last long as she saw something shimmer on the ground in front of her. Hope had risen in her optics. "Yes!"

Maiko continued to resist the electricity as the blue lightning flashed and struck her like a lightning rod. Her eyes were still closed but this time it was out of pain. Unable to see but only to feel the pain she thought t herself, _'I-I can take more! I'm letting her beat me like this! All I need is to see!'_

Cula cackled as the lightning from her body grew even stronger. "Hahahahaha! It's over! I'll see to it that you'll be left nothing but dust and ash! I'll-!" Cula stopped as she saw a small, red gem fly through the air from behind her. She turned to see Aegis staggering over with her right arm flung out in front of her as if she had just thrown something. Cula's eyes widened when she recognised the gem and its capabilities.

Aegis sighed in relief. "It is fortunate that this land grows rich with Me Patra gems."

Maiko clenched her fists in an effort to further resist the pain. Her black world did not show her where it was coming from so she could not attack or defend herself. She wanted to yell at something but it was against her better judgement and nature. Besides, she wouldn't be able to hear her own voice over all the sudden sounds of lightning strikes. Maiko blinked, _'Wait a minute...'_

As she blinked she saw something else other than the black void that had rules her vision. She saw blue electricity flash from her opponent to herself. She could see the clay coloured room around her that was made of earth and rock. She smelt the burning of the charred ground below her and she could hear the curses that Cula was throwing at her mentor.

She wasted no time. As soon as she regained her senses Maiko ran out of the lightning that had been plaguing her with pain for so long. Cula felt the electrical attack break and returned her attention to Maiko. Cula lashed out at Maiko with her hands and her upper body lower like an animal in an attempt to stop her but Maiko simply jumped up high and landed a drop kick on Cula's skull. The Neo-Shadow's face hit the ground which made a crater the size of her face in the ground. Cula lifted her head only to meet the tip of an arrow pointed at the space between her eyes. Beside Otrera was Maiko, who was kneeling on one knee and resting her arm on her knee. With a devious smile she asked, "Care to surrender?"

"Y-you little-"

BANG!

Cula's mouth froze at the sudden gun shot. Right beside her head was a small, newly formed hole was smoking out grey smoke. Cula eyes the hole with her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk.

Aegis steadily stepped forward with her right hand finger guns smoking. "I believe we this is when some humans say 'Checkmate.'"

Cula was seething with absolute rage. "GRAAAAAAHHHH!" She charged herself with electricity and wildly struggled to bring herself up.

"Stop!" Maiko ordered. Otrera fired her arrow at the first sign of from her master. But it was not of any use to any avail as Cula just lifted her palm and let the arrow pierce it. The arrow went through Cula's hand into the ground and she stood up and lifted her other hand to claw Maiko. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

BOOM!

Suddenly the wall behind Cula imploded with the rubble bursting out at high speeds. Cula turned to see what had exploded behind her only to meet an avalanche of rubble knocking her over and covering her in a huge pile of stone. Aegis and Maiko shielded their faces when the explosion took place. As the shockwave of the explosion passed they lowered their arms to along with the wind lowering their hair.

A white giant with a globe in one hand and a sword in the other stood before the massive hole that the explosion had made. The giant hovered for a moment before disappearing in blue light. As the giant left several figures were revealed from behind the giant.

The first one was Akihiko. "Sorry we're late."

"Akihiko-senpai!" Aegis exclaimed with joy.

Junpei, Yuuta and Yukari followed close behind. Yuuta was between Junpei and Yukari, hanging his arms over their shoulders for support, as Junpei and Yukari carried him in. As the four newcomers walked in Yuuta put on his smug grin. "We didn't miss the party did we?"

Maiko relaxed her shoulders at the sight of friendly and familiar faces. "I think Akihiko-san just ended it," she sighed.

Yukari left Junpei to handle Yuuta to check on Maiko and Aegis. Yukari went up to both of them and asked, "You guys weren't hurt too badly were you?"

Maiko straightened her ponytail before shrugging. "Oh, we weren't hurt too badly," she reported before reluctantly saying, "Just a few electric shocks here and there..."

"It's good that you guys are okay," Akihiko stated, "We found Junpei and Yuuta exhausted down the first tunnel we took. We wanted to go back up and find you two but then we felt a few tremors from the other side of the walls. I got Caesar to blast down the walls bit by bit before getting here."

Aegis nodded. "That is fortunate. The enemy might have overcome us if you didn't come in when you did."

Puzzled by the statement, Junpei looked around. "Hey, where _is_ the enemy?"

"Under there." said Maiko as she pointed to the pile of rubble.

Akihiko walked up to the pile of rubble and carefully removed the debris to see the enemy. His eyes narrowed as he removed the stone that revealed what was covered.

Aegis was concerned by Akihiko's sudden expression. "Is something wrong Akihiko-senpai?"

The latter turned. "There's no one under here..." Akihiko announced.

"What!" Maiko exclaimed. She rushed over to the rubble and looked through the porthole Akihiko made. All she saw through the porthole was space between the outer rubble and more debris on the floor.

Aegis took a look as well and asked, "Where did she go?"

Maiko was suspicious of the current predicament. She reached into the rubble and scanned the debris on the floor with her hand. The debris suddenly broke apart from each other and revealed another tunnel under it. Maiko's eyes widened as she realised what had happened. "Everyone look out-!"

The ground cracked and crumbled behind Akihiko's feet. Cula's monstrous from leapt out of the loose ground and this time she had a knife ready to pierce Akihiko's back in her hand. "DIE!"

SHUNK!

A startled Akihiko froze as Cula had emerged from the earth. But what had given him a wide eye wasn't the fact Cula had suddenly just froze as well.

It was that Maiko had thrown Otrera's remaining arrow into Cula's chest.

Cula staggered backwards and collapsed on her side. She clutched her bleeding chest and gritted her teeth. "Damn you. To be humiliated by so many disgusting humans..." she angrily mumbled.

Then her body suddenly let off black smog. Her hybrid of her human form and Queen Mab began to blacken and violently hiss. Cula panicked and held herself with fear. "N-No!" she yelled while she desperately clung onto her own torso, "I-I don't want to go! Please! LORD ZORN! HELP ME! SAVE ME! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" With one final scream Cula's body collapsed and deteriorated in black smoke. Nothing was left as the smoke cleared, not even a trace of hair.

Everyone in the room didn't speak a word. What they had witnessed was something that had happened to other ordinary Shadows, but the way it happened to Cula wasn't pleasant. Junpei eventually had the strength to say, "Sh-she's gone..."

As the words registered to everyone's ears they all regained their senses. "She was a Shadow to begin with," Aegis calmly spoke, "I guess most Neo-Shadows simply... go like that."

Akihiko sighed and looked up at the tunnel Aegis and Maiko had first come into the room from. "There's no point staying here anymore. We've got to help Mitsuru and the others."

Yuuta and Maiko nodded and spoke in unison, "Right!"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Damn it!" Reiji cursed after jumping off another enormous branch as it burst into flames. His grip on his bat tightened as the fires that lit the treetops grew larger and hotter. He landed one another branch and looked over his shoulder.

In the distance Ken was having trouble keeping Dane at bay. Sparks kept flying as the blade of Ken's spear and Dane's sword repeatedly conflicted. Ken lifted this Evoker for it seemed to be the hundredth time today. After the pull of the trigger and a sound of shattering glass Kala-Nemi rotated its robotic arms and swung it down. Dane swiftly sidestepped with leaving an afterimage to take the blow, which looked very catastrophic as Kala-Nemi's arm punched off the far end of the branch they were standing on. Dane gave a smirk and another sound of glass shattering was heard. Satan's appearance made Ken bite his lip for he didn't have much time to dodge the next attack.

Satan swung its arms and a ring of flame came to life and expanded. The incoming flames hit Ken with great heat that could even be felt by Reiji who was only on the other side of the clearing between him and the main battle. Reiji gritted his teeth as he snarled, "Come on Ken-sensei. You can't go down like this."

"Hyah!" Ken bellowed as he threw his arms out and his chest forward. The flames were extinguished as his aura temporarily increased in force. Battle damage was apparent on Ken as his clothes were smoking and a few small cuts dripping out blood were visible. Drops of sweat ran down Ken's head as he huffed and puffed for breath.

Suddenly Miwa and Nanako jumped out behind the tree trunks with their respective Personas following them. Both of them raced past the battle field shouting, "Dia!"

Ariel and Hippolyta raised their weapons to the air and light surrounded Ken's body. The cuts sealed up and closed as his breathing became calmer and not as ragged. Dane scowled and threw his hand at Nanako and Miwa. "Agidyne!"

Satan returned and shot a fire ball heading Miwa and Nanako's way. But the two didn't have to worry because Koromaru leapt from the shadows and took on the fire attack. The fire ball harmlessly hit the fire immune dog and both the girls and Koromaru had disappeared from Dane's sight. Dane's narrowed eyes and frown showed his irritation.

He turned to Ken. "Your little team of mice are really, _really_ getting under my skin," he commented.

Ken simply smiled. "Too bad," he replied, "Cause you're not landing a scratch on them without going through me!"

The two charged at each other again and their weapons clashed once again.

Nanako and Miwa took cover behind a tree with Koromaru watching his orange clad comrade fight off the enemy. Miwa wiped her forehead in relief. "This is going better than I thought it would," she stated.

"Don't let your guard just yet Miwa," Nanako reminded her friend, "Ken-san's the only one who can take on Dane head on now. All we can do is support him with healing. This isn't going to last though, Dane is probably still holding back."

Reiji jumped down and joined the two girls behind the tree. "Well, that's just peachy. How are we supposed take him out then?" he asked.

Nanako brought her hand to her head and looked down. "... I honestly don't know at this point," she answered, "We're throwing everything we got at him already..."

_BOOM!_

A sound of an explosion and a shockwave hit the three adolescents from the other side of the tree they were hiding behind. The trunk of the tree cracked horizontally and snapped into two. The top half of the tree trunk fell away and revealed Ken had landed back first onto the stump of the bottom half of the tree. Not to mention that he was in pain. "Ugh..."

"Ken-san!" Nanako exclaimed before she ran to her teacher. She knelt down and saw his wounds were bigger than the last ones he received.

While was apparent in Ken's eyes the teacher still stood up while. "I-I'm fine. I just left myself too open."

Dane hopped from one branch to the other to get a better look at the carnage he had done. He gave a whistle of impression and said, "You sure are resilient, that's for sure."

"Can it you bastard!" Reiji shouted at the blue haired swordsman, "You're going down the moment you open that trash can of a mouth of yours!"

Dane frowned. "You brats are really annoying. I could take you three kids down in three seconds. The only reason you brats are still alive is because your so-called teacher actually has some substance. I'd shut your mouth if I were you, unless you can actually take me on without dying."

Miwa was the next one to shout. "Leave us alone! I don't know what orders you were given but you can't be serious in attacking us on unequal ground!"

"...Heh heh... Hahahahahahaha!" Dane suddenly laughed at Miwa's statement. Confusion came over the three teenagers' faces as Dane continued to hoot and howl with laughter. Dane eventually calmed down and got to the point. "Don't know what orders I was given huh?" he asked mockingly, "I guess I should tell you then, all of the Arcana Knights were forbidden to go after you guys in this round of the preliminaries."

Nanako's eyes widened at the declaration. "But then why are you here!"

The blue haired swordsman smirked and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not one for taking orders I don't like. Besides, you guys are the last bunch from that galaxy. So if I took you out that leaves no one to oppose Lord Zorn, meaning he'll claim your galaxy and I'll be crowned a hero!"

"Not if I can help it!" Reiji roared as he threw himself at Dane with his bat and tarot card ready.

"Reiji, stop!" Ken called out but it worked to no avail.

"Gilgamesh! Zio!" Reiji's giant Persona came forth and threw a lightning bolt out of his hand. Dane jumped out of the lightning's path and caught Reiji's bat with his free hand.

"You didn't learn from last time didn't you?" Dane asked rhetorically. He jabbed his sword into the ground and let go of it to use his hand to land a punch into Reiji's stomach. Reiji fell to his knees, out of breath, groaning in pain and then unconscious.

Miwa appeared behind Dane with Hippolyta floating behind her. She cried out, "Bufu!" and Hippolyta unleashed her ice coated whip. The ice was flung towards Dane in the form of shards but Dane had already proven before that his fist was stronger than Miwa's ice. Dane repeated his block from before and the ice harmlessly to the ground far below them. But despite the fact the attack failed, Miwa was smiling.

Dane noticed this and he his mind ran through why she would be smiling. His realisation hit him, screaming at him to turn around. He trusted his instinct and turned to find Nanako's bladed claws at his neck. "Don't move..." she warned as she stood at more than arm's length away from Dane with her claw aimed at him, "Or I say 'Hama'."

Dane realised what she meant as a light shone from beneath his feet. A Hama spell circle had appeared there as Ariel, the angelic Persona, was hovering above both Nanako and himself. He chided, "I guess I underestimated you brats..."

He shot his eyes wide open. "Not! Satan! Use Megidolaon!" His blue, demonic Persona came in a blue flash and brought down its arms with pulsing, blue energy surround them.

"Ha-!" Nanako was about to recite the spell but Dane had gotten the drop on her by his swinging kick. Nanako was hit from the side and her concentration was thrown off. Ariel and the Hama circle faded into nothing and Nanako was grabbed by her arms. Dane threw her towards Miwa. The two girls weren't given time to think as Nanako crashed into Miwa. Nanako fell onto the branch and she kept her grip but Miwa wasn't so lucky. She was pushed to the edge of the branch and she was slipping off it. She desperately tried to grab hold of the tree branch but she continued to slip off the side.

"A-Ah!" She went off the side and was falling from the very high treetops to her doom.

Nanako didn't waste a second. With haste she got up and jumped over to Miwa. A split second after Miwa's body lost its contact with the branch Nanako grabbed Miwa's left arm and held it with all her strength. With one hand holding her friend and the other holding onto the branch she claimed, "Don't worry! I got you!"

"Not for long," Dane's voice coldly rung in both their ears. Satan still had its mystical, blue energy in its hands and it brought it down on top of them. "Goodbye."

A blue explosion took place over Nanako and Miwa. Dane paused in confusion as he wondered why the Megidolaon had not harmed the girls. The smoke from the attack cleared to reveal a battered Koromaru lying between Satan and the girls.

"Koro-Chan!" Miwa cried out for the brave dog. Nanako pulled her up and as soon as she got her footing back Miwa stormed right at Dane with her card in her hand. "Hippolyt-!"

Dane disappeared from sight for one moment and he reappeared right in front of Miwa. He grabbed her hand that was about to crush her card and said, "No need for that now." He straightened his free hand and hit Miwa's neck with a karate chop. Miwa fell unconscious and she fell off the branch yet again.

Ken leapt for her and caught her bridal style. He landed on a lower branch and settled her down there. He angrily turned to Dane. "That's enough!"

Dane walked over to his unused sword and picked it up. "It's not enough till I say it's enough." He grinned evilly as he faced Nanako. "Now for the first blood," he whispered. He charged at Nanako with his sword in hand. Nanako reacted by jumping back but Dane had proven himself to be too fast for her. In an instant he was already upon her and her whammed her forehead with the hilt of his sword. Nanako dropped down limp as her brain was shaken.

Ken had just about enough. He leaped to the branch Dane and Nanako were on and before Dane could skewer Nanako Ken furiously swung the blade of his spear at him. Dane ducked, pulled back and sidestepped all of Ken's attacks of rage. He smirked as he stepped back one more time and landed a right hook onto Ken's face. Ken was thrown back by the punch, his back to Dane and his footing undone. He regained his footing and brought up his Evoker before he turned back to attack Dane. "Ziodyne!" he shouted and Kala-Nemi came to his call. Kala-Nemi charged up with electricity and it shot out towards Dane. Ken was finishing his turn by then and what he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Nanako was being pulled up by her hair in front of Dane. Dane's smirk grew bigger as Ken finally registered what he was doing.

He was going to hit Nanako instead of Dane.

At the last second Ken threw his hand to the side and willed the lightning to bend away from Nanako. The lightning obeyed and the attack evaded Nanako by mere inches as it struck a nearby tree. The blue haired swordsman took this chance to counter. "Satan!"

Satan was summoned and Dane let go of Nanako's hair. "Agidyne!"

Ken couldn't move fast enough after he redirected his attack at last minute. The Agidyne hit at full blast and Ken was consumed by fire.

Nanako watched as the fire swallow up her teacher. The burning fire was reflected in her eyes as she fearfully whispered, "Ken-san..."

As the fire soon passed as it burned itself out. Ken had come out looking like he had definitely seen better days. Patches of black like charcoal stains covered his body and smoke coming off him was even darker than before. He staggered and fell to his knees, only having the strength to keep his upper body up.

Dane slowly walked up to the weakened Ken and he violently grabbed him by his orange jacket. "I'll see you and your students to the afterlife. I don't believe in God or any other divine being, but I pray that you get to the afterlife as roughly as possible."

Ken could only watch Dane with his narrowed and angered eyes for his strength could only allow him just that. "..."

Dane gave one last smirk as he raised his hand to Ken's face. "See ya."

Satan came back as grotesque as ever, but this time the air around it gave off a dark feeling. A feeling of death.

Dane's eyes lit up in joy as two words left his lips. "Black Viper..."

* * *

Author's notes: Hitotsu and Cula have fallen to S.E.E.S's power but Dane the Arcana Knight has a lot of strength and a lot to prove! Can Nanako and Ken beat this merciless soldier of Zorn or will S.E.E.S have an heart-breaking casualty or more? Keep reading and find out!

And as usual, read and review please!


	11. Chapter 11 Battle of the Forest 3, End

Author's notes: Y'know, you can really get addicted to new games very easily. Mass Effect 2 and Starcraft II were just awesome and I've just started playing Pokemon Black...

In other words, I'm sorry for getting sidetracked. Enjoy the chapter and as always, read and review!

* * *

Yukari fired her Evoker at her forehead to bring forth Isis. She jumped aboard her Persona as it floated under the hole in the ceiling. "All ready to go?"

"Almost," Maiko answered from below her. "Junpei-san and Akihiko-san are just getting something."

"And we got it!" Junpei's voice rang out from the tunnel connecting the two chambers.

"Why are we bringing this guy?" Yuuta asked Junpei as he climbed onto Yukari's Persona in preparation for lift off. Yuuta's finger was specifically pointing to what Akihiko and Junpei were carrying in.

Junpei and Akihiko had carried in a battered and unconscious Hitotsu from the makeshift tunnel Caesar had carved out earlier. The two older members of S.E.E.S had carried him in by his arms and legs. "We can't just leave him here," Akihiko answered before Junpei could, "He's human, so leaving him down here might eventually kill him."

Yukari didn't look comfortable with this. "But he works for Zorn..." she mumbled worriedly.

Akihiko shook his head. "Even so, we can't just leave him to die down here. We can retain him and let him go after he's fit enough to, but in the meantime we have to keep him alive."

Maiko brought herself up on Isis and sat on Isis's shoulder. "Akihiko-san's right. If he dies down here it'll be our fault. We can't be like Zorn and just think of him as an expendable soldier."

"...Guess we can't argue with that." Yuuta reluctantly replied, "But if this guy wakes up and tries to pull a fast one on us, I'll be the one dishing out the dirt on him."

Aegis nodded while retaining her unreadable face. "I suppose it is in order."

Suddenly the walls around them shook at a great magnitude. Stone chunks of the ceiling above them started to fall and everyone in the earthen room either staggered or scrambled out of surprise.

Junpei scrambled. "Wh-what the hell!"

"E-earthquake!" Yuuta exclaimed while he clung onto Isis's wings.

As more rubble fell from the ceiling Aegis decided to take action. "Everyone get down! Athena!" Her Persona shone in majestic blue light and lifted her shield over Aegis and the others to stop the rubble from hitting anyone of them. The stones bounced and broke on the shield of Athena like a rain falling on an umbrella.

The sudden tremor died down and everyone slowly calmed down. Aegis's optics' pupils narrowed in uncertainty. "That wasn't a natural earthquake..." she said.

Akihiko looked up at the ceiling with concern shrouding his face. "What's going on up there...?"

* * *

_Fuuka and Mitsuru's position..._

"Aaahhh!" Fuuka screamed as the tremor was dying down. But as the tremor stopped she was shaken off the branch she was standing on and fell off to the very, very far ground below. Mitsuru was on the same branch just a few metres away from Fuuka as she watched her fall.

"Yamagishi!" Mitsuru acted on her instinct. She lunged out and made an attempt to grab Fuuka's sleeve but she was a moment too late and she missed her by a mere centimetre.

Fuuka eyes widened in great fear and her body went horizontal with her back facing the ground. She then immediately closed her eyes to brace herself to the fall and screamed, "Kyyyaaaaaaa!"

BANG!

A gunshot and a shatter of glass was heard and Fuuka opened her eyes to see that she wasn't falling, but was actually in the safety of Artemisia's hands. The Persona in the blue dress and red mask gently embraced Fuuka as it ascended back onto the branch with Mitsuru. Mitsuru went over to Fuuka with her Evoker in her right hand. Fuuka settled on the tree branch trembling and she breathed very heavily.

After Artemisia disappeared Mitsuru asked, "Are you alright Yamagishi?"

Fuuka nervously nodded her head. "I-I'm fine senpai."

"Thank goodness," Mitsuru said with relief before taking a look around them. "That earthquake was quite powerful. And what's worse, it had to happen during all this chaos."

"Th-that wasn't an earthquake Mitsuru-senpai," Fuuka objected, "It was the trees that were shaking the ground with a large tremor. Something's happened up there, something terrible..."

Mitsuru raised her eyebrows in surprise. "The trees?" Then her eyes darted upwards as she spotted something fall from above. A small black, charred material fell into her sight as if it was dancing from side to side in the air. More scraps of the black material floated downwards from above like snowflakes on a snowy winter's day.

Fuuka looked around frightened as Mitsuru cupped one of the thin, black materials in her hand. "Leafs?" she pondered out loud and then flinching ever so slightly as the charred leaf in her hand broke into many particles of ash. Mitsuru looked upwards with her subtle voice whispering, "Amada..."

* * *

_Ken's battle..._

Rising black smoke. That was the first thing Nanako could see after the attack that was so devastating that she could not remember it. Her vision sharpened bit by bit until her sight was once again fully clear. In her sight she could see dark smoke rise from burnt and dead trees. The branch that she laid on felt brittle and flaky underneath her. The air had a feel of darkness lingering about and the very sound of a burning twig could be heard by her ears. Nanako felt fear strike her to the very bottom of her heart. The very atmosphere silently screamed ill tidings from all directions. Something had happened, something that Nanako was very afraid to know. But against her fear and better judgement she pushed herself to stand.

She managed to lift herself up by her arms before a foot stomped right in front of her. She raised her head and her eyes trailed the foot all the way up to see Dane's smug face. With his arms crossed and his smile wide he cruelly said, "Going somewhere?"

Nanako gritted her teeth at the sight of this man. "W-where is he? Where's Ken-san?"

Dane's eyes lit up in what Nanako thought was...glee?

"Here he is," Dane replied holding up a small, orange piece of cloth.

Nanako knew exactly what it meant. As the realisation hit her tears swelled up in her eyes. "K-Ken-san, no..."

Dane sheathed his bone sword and reached out to grabbed Nanako by the collar of her school sailor uniform and pulled her up so that she was looking at him at face level. Nanako struggled with her legs dangling in the air, kicking Dane's legs while she was at. Dane didn't even flinch. "Pathetic," he commented on Nanako's attempt to hurt him, "As soon as the head honcho's gone the rest of the underlings are just too easy to pick off."

Nanako desperately tried to break free. She had her blue tarot card come down to her right but Dane's lightning fast hand grabbed her hand before she could crush the card. "Oh no you don't," Dane scolded, "I don't want anything to interrupt while I kill-"

A black humanoid creature leapt from the black, charred wood below them like a tiger pouncing out from the grass. The black human rammed into Dane's back using its right elbow, interrupting Dane and throwing him off.

"What the hell!" Dane exclaimed. At his surprise Nanako managed to kick him in the stomach. Dane let go of her and coughed, "Oof!"

At that moment Dane had let go of Nanako due to the sudden kick in the stomach. Nanako hastily jumped back from the fray before Dane turned to the black one. "Who the hell are you!" he yelled at the black one.

The black humanoid lifted his hands to his face and brushed away the blackness of his face. The blackness fell off his face as soot and charred ash. After one smooth wipe over his face the black man's face was revealed. Dane could not believe his eyes, "You! You're supposed to be-!"

"Dead?" said the man, "I was pretty close to it."

"Ken-san!" Nanako cried out in relief at her teacher's appearance.

Ken smiled at his student before facing Dane once again. "You were too arrogant, Dane. You were so sure of your victory that you decided to tear up my jacket before your attack hit. That's all I needed to get away from the middle of the Black Viper and hide amongst ashes."

Dane stood dumbstruck in his place for a moment, but that quickly changed as a smirk crept up onto his face. "You're the one who's too arrogant, you second-rate teacher," Dane snorted, "Look at the state you're in."

At those words Nanako turned her gaze to Ken and saw what Dane had meant. Though Ken was in one piece his body was very battered due to all the burns on his legs which were left half-exposed from the shreds in his pants. His right arm was completely exposed due to the missing sleeve and not to mention it was limp with all sorts of red marks. Nanako hadn't noticed at first, but Ken was shaking in the legs as it was taking all of his strength to stand now.

"You're done," Dane simply stated with a cynical stare, "It took everything you had to survive the splash of my attack and rescue your precious student from her _eventual_ death." He threw his arms and chest fiercely out and a wave of blue, transparent energy was compelled from him. The wave hit Nanako and Ken and it shook them off their feet like gust of wind. Ken was easily shaken due to his fatigue as he landed on his back. Nanako was propelled back but she managed to land on her feet by somersaulting backwards. The wind had picked up strongly when Dane had somehow 'burst' the energy wave and it was blowing through the tree tops like a hurricane.

Dane put his arms back to his sides and gave Ken another smug look. "_That _Persona mastery," Dane taunted, "You're the most experienced one with a Persona out of your little 'school group' and you've only scratched the surface of the potential of Persona." Dane walked over to Ken and grabbed him by the collar once again. "You. Never. Stood. A chance." He spat, emphasising each word.

He threw Ken down to a branch below as if he was a rag doll. Ken landed back first, his back being arched on impact. "Gah!" Ken coughed out blood as he landed.

"KEN-SAN!" Nanako screamed out Ken's name when she saw the awful beating. Her foot went forward for her to jump over to Ken but a hand grabbed her mouth from behind and another hand held back her waist soon after. "Mmff!"

"I will admit though," Dane's voice rand from behind her, "You guys were fun, the most fun I've had in a while." With a smile that gave Nanako's spine chills Dane stuck out his tongue near Nanako's ear and said, "I'm almost sad that this will end soon." A wider smirk crept up on Dane's face, "Almost. But I'll enjoy bringing you back to Lord Zorn little mouse. The Eligere Guards can torture you till death as I'll be happily listening to you from afar, listening to your cries for mercy..."

BANG!

A gunshot and the sound of breaking glass was heard and an huge orange robot appeared above Nanako and Dane. Looking up, Dane saw Kala-Nemi swing down its arm from above. Dane disappeared with a whisk and Nanako felt Kala-Nemi's attack missing her from behind. The missed assault left behind the unfortunate branch below a hole.

Dane appeared as fast as he disappeared on a higher branch with an angry glare. "What part of 'You never stood a chance' did you not understand?" he spat angrily.

Nanako looked down below her to see Ken had gotten up into a trembling and weak standing position with his eyes hidden in the shadow of his brow. He was staggering just to stay up but he held the Evoker to his head with a firm grip. "I've got something for you," Ken managed to say over his ragged breathing, "If you hurt my students..."

Ken lifted his head and his eyes were revealed with an undying flare in them. "You'll have to deal with me!"

His finger pulled the trigger once more and Kala-Nami stood strong over him. With a rotation of its arms and shoulders Kala-Nemi's Diarama shined on Ken, sealing his wounds and healing his burns. Though Ken was still breathing hard and was still feeling the pain of Dane's attacks, he knew that pain would never compare to the pain of losing the ones that were put under his charge. Ken jumped over to the tree stump where he was thrown into earlier and grabbed his spear that was imbedded in the top of the stump. He jumped again only this time to land on the same branch Dane was standing on and charge at him. Dane unsheathed his sword and parried Ken's spear with a swift swing to his left. But Dane was underestimating his opponent, for Ken had twirled his spear around after Dane had parried the bladed end and he twirled the spear from his right to behind his back and then into his left hand, hitting Dane in the side of the head with the non-bladed end. In his surprise, Dane staggered back from the hit to the face he had received. But being an elite warrior, his recovery was fast. Dane ran forward with his blade ready but it wasn't his sword that he was intending to attack first with. "Satan!"

Ken took his chances and rushed to clash blades with Dane once again with only holding his spear with one hand and under his elbow. His other hand was holding up his Evoker. "Kala-Nemi!"

A flash of orange and blue shined for a brief moment before the orange titan and the blue demon were brawling over their masters' clash.

"Y-you're starting to _really_ annoy me!" Dane growled as he tried to push his sword forward.

Ken struggled to not give even an inch to Dane's push. "It's the least I can do," he replied with a smirk.

The two Persona-users suddenly parried each other's blades, sparks flying in the process. Kala-Nemi and Satan mirrored their masters by pushing each other away with aggressive thrusts. Ken's Persona threw one of its robotic fists at Satan but the blue devil blocked it by swinging its tail around and using it as a shield with its hands enforcing the defence.

The humans were also continuing their battle. A short while after the clash of their weapons had ended Ken thrust his spear at Dane with one hand. The blue haired man saw the attack coming and grabbed the pole of the spear before the blade could reach him. What caught him by surprise was that Ken had used his other hand to ram the end of the handle of his Evoker into the side of his forehead. And getting hit in the head a second time wasn't something that didn't hurt. "Argh!" Dane choked out. For a moment he staggered and wavered back from where he stood.

That moment was all Ken needed. "Hamaon!"

The zodiac symbols engraved on Kala-Nemi's rotating shoulders glowed brightly orange. As Dane stepped back a circle of light magic had formed below him, basking him in golden light. Dane, however, was too quick to be caught in a devastating yet very avoidable attack. An instant before the hamaon struck Dane had whisked away by sheer speed.

The hamaon missed, but Ken had been expecting that. His eyes scanned the surroundings and caught Dane two branches below on the other side of the huge tree. Ken lifted his Evoker again and shouted, "Come Kala-Nemi, Vile Assault!"

Kala-Nemi withdrew its barraging fists away from Satan and turned its attention to Dane with its right robotic fist clenched and held back for attack. Dane saw Kala-Nemi incoming and in response he waved his hands inward as if he was gesturing a command to come to him.

Which is what Satan did. Satan flew as fast as it could to intercept Kala-Nemi's fist with its tail again. Satan's tail wrapped around Kala-Nemi's arm and slammed its arms into Kala-Nemi's front to push it back. But as Kala-Nemi was pushed away by the impact Satan brought back its tail to pull back Kala-Nemi and deliver a punch to the orange Persona's face.

Kala-Nemi shattered away into blue glass shards. Ken mentally cursed and winced as Kala-Nemi was defeated. He knew that facing a so-called 'master' of Persona wouldn't be wise in a Persona to Persona battle, but Ken was running out of ideas. _'It's now or never...'_ his thoughts rang in his head.

He swiftly lifted his Evoker to his head and shouted, "Take this!" He went crazy on the trigger, pulling it rapidly and the sound of breaking glass was repeatedly heard in succession.

The rapid shooting of the Evoker widened Dane's eyes in surprise but that wasn't all that made his eyes bulge. Bright, golden lights shone from below Dane from circles that were swiftly forming and expanding. Dane was about to jump out of the way when he saw a second source of golden light glinted from the corner of his eye. The hamaons were not just forming below him, they were forming around him. The circles had surrounded the entire branch that he had been standing on, blocking all exits and gaps. With hamaons in the tens surrounding Dane like a prison cell, there was no chance of escape.

Ken pulled the trigger one last time with his eyes opening wide open like he had all those times in Tartarus. "Kala-Nemi..."

Ken was surrounded a blue aura and in a flash Kala-Nemi was standing strong in the same aura. Kala-Nemi lifted its right fist up high as the zodiac symbols on its shoulder glowed orange. Ken nodded at his Persona and Kala-Nemi swung down its fist.

Dane shot a venomous glare at Ken and cursed, "You son of a-!"

And at that moment the light shone brighter than the 4th of July.

* * *

_?_

A tall man in a pure white, long sleeve martial arts gi walked down the stone halls that were dimly lit by torches that were held up on the walls. From his relaxed pace down the hall he wasn't in any hurry. His face was one of an elderly man, yet the wrinkles of his face weren't too many in number for only a few ever revealed his old age. His posture was no indicator for old age either, for he was walking with his back straight and his legs were fluent in walking smoothly. Though his hair was white with a few lines of grey he had a head full of it that went down to the end of his neck. His hair was also connected to the side burns that led to his beard which went half a metre down from his chin and ended with a triangular tip. His eyes were closed as he walked.

Suddenly a smaller man in a black shinobi ninja uniform that concealed the bottom half of his face appeared in front of the old man from the ceiling and bowed down to him. "Master," the ninja began, "I have news..."

The old man shook his head, not in annoyance, but in reluctance. "I am sure it can wait young one," he replied in his low voice, "I was just enjoying a peaceful walk in these-"

"I-it's about Dane-dono," the ninja hesitantly interrupted.

The old man's eyes opened and revealed his brown eyes which. His expression had changed from relaxed to concern. "...What has he done this time?"

* * *

_The forest treetops..._

The blinding light eventually faded and the darkness of the forest came back. As soon as the light went away Ken fell to his knees with his breath ragged and his brow sweating. He breathed deeply in for what it seemed to be years since he last breathed easily even though the battle had only lasted for less than an hour. Nanako jumped from one tree branch to another until she eventually got onto the one Ken was resting on and asked, "Are you okay Ken-san?"

Ken lifted his head and smiled. "I think so," he replied, "I've run out of energy to summon but I don't think it's necessary anymore. Is he gone?"

Nanako turned to look at where Dane was last seen before the light consumed him. Nothing was left. "Yes Ken-san," she softly answered before turning back to him and rested her hand on his shoulder, "It's over..."

"Such famous last words."

Nanako and Ken's spines shivered as the voice that they thought they would never hear again was heard. Nanako was shaking as she slowly turned around, not wanting to believe what her vision showed her.

Unscratched and unharmed, Dane was standing only a few metres away from them with his arms crossed. "You didn't really think I wouldn't have a counter-measure for such powerful magic?" In his hand he showed them a white doll made of leather which had multiple strings tightening where the joints and neck of a human would be.

Ken gritted his teeth. "A homunculus," he growled.

Dane sniggered, "Actually, I had about more than fifty of these in my Pisyx but you burned every single one of them with your 'cage' of light, except this one." As he finished the homunculus in his hand crumbled into tiny pieces. "Oops, looks like you did get every single one of them."

Ken punched the branch underneath him. "Dammit!" he cursed, "I failed again..."

Nanako looked uneasily at her teacher after admitted his failure. She clench her fists and readied her claws in a battle stance.

Dane looked unimpressed. "What do you think you're doing? Your teacher couldn't stop me with his best chance and yet you plan to take me on _again_?"

Ken lifted his head and tried to reach Nanako but his strength failed him. "Nanako!" he wailed, "Don't try it!"

"Ken-san," Nanako began looking at her teacher, "I won't give up. Not until I either win and come home alive or lose I don't come back alive... or worse." She shifted her furthest foot forward and stood even firmer. "But I won't give in! Even in the darkest days there's always the light of hope. I'm still holding onto that hope, so I'll keep on going!"

Dane's eyes narrowed at Nanako's statement. _'Where have I...?'_

A voice of an old man rand through his mind, _'It matters not whether you are outnumbered or outclassed. What matters is that even though you cannot escape and your comrades think you can't win, you still keep fighting because there will always be a hope. A chance.'_

Dane shook his head. _'Fools, all of them. There isn't a hope in the world that can save fools.'_

He readied his sword and lifted up in the air for a downward strike. "Your 'hope', little girl, doesn't exist." He swung his sword down onto Nanako.

CLANG!

A blur of green whisked in front of Nanako and a metal bat had intercepted the sword. Holding his bat in both hands sideways and his legs bent to adjust to the force being pushed down on the bat, Reiji Tenno gave a ghost of a smile and said, "Don't start the party without me."

"Reiji!" Nanako gladly exclaimed.

Dane bit down hard on his teeth and his eyes widened in fury. "Can't you brats die already?"

Reiji pushed away the sword with his bat and brought but his bat to swing it down. But Dane was faster in movement for he had passed his sword from his right hand to his left and swung it sideways aiming for Reiji's stomach. "Too slow!" he shouted.

Suddenly a thin leather rope wrapped around Dane's hands from the far left, halting his attack. Reiji continued with his attack and smashed his bat down on Dane's shoulder.

Whatever Dane's thoughts were about the sudden interference was interrupted by blunt metal meeting flesh. "A-argh!" he hissed before he flicked off the rope and jumped away from Reiji and the others. He swiftly turned his head to see what had stopped him from terminating his prey.

On a higher branch in the shadows, Miwa and a limping Koromaru stepped out of those shadows while Miwa was stretching out her whip with pride. "You mess with one of us; you mess with _all_ of us," she stated calmly yet with there was a sense of aggression within that calm tone. She jumped down from branch to branch before arriving on Nanako and Reiji's. Koromaru took smaller jumps due his leg but he managed to land to Ken's side.

With her two friends alive and well, Nanako was able to put her worry behind her and confidently stand between them. "I'm so glad you guys are okay," she said softly.

Reiji snorted with half a smile. "We'll see how long that lasts."

Nanako smirked at Reiji's 'enthusiasm'. "I've got a plan but I'm going to need your help on this," she whispered to both of them.

"Say no more Nanako," Miwa replied, also whispering.

Nanako nodded at both of them. "Follow my lead!" she cried before running toward Dane with her claws branched out to her sides.

"Tch!" Dane sounded really annoyed this time but he really didn't bother to express it in words. Instead he cocked his head and shouted, "Satan!"

Satan appeared right above the teenagers and held its hands together, ready to smash them down.

"Come here Gilgamesh!" Reiji roared as he crushed his tarot card. The silver armoured giant that was Gilgamesh appeared with raised arms crossed over each other. Satan swung down its arms onto Gilgamesh's block and began forcing down on the giant. Gilgamesh staggered at impact but managed to hold his ground.

Reiji ran on ahead of Nanako and swung his bat continuously at Dane. Dane managed to sidestep or duck every one of Reiji's swings but he winced every time as his shoulder gave him jabs of pain.

Then Nanako leapt high over from behind Reiji with her left fist ready to punch.

Not to mention that the blades of her ninja claws would reach Dane before the punch did.

Eyes widened, Dane leapt back while trying to ignore the pain that shot through his shoulder. Nanako landed kneeling down with her claws imbedded slightly into the branch below her.

No longer caring for the damage done to his shoulder, Dane quickly reached into an inside pocket from his jacket and pulled out a small plastic blue tube with a small, thin needle on the end. He lifted up in the air and swung it down into his limp arm. "Ah!" he hissed, as the tube also hissed as its blue colour faded away. He flexed his once limp arm and curled his hand into a fist. "Not as good as a dia, but it'll do."

Flexing his arm one more time he lunged forward at Nanako and Reiji. This time he returned his sword to its sheath and brought out his hands, half open, half rounded like a fist. He reached Nanako first and he twirled around with a round-house kick. Nanako quickly dodged by a hair by ducking down low and dropping to the floor. Reiji backed her up by swinging his bat over her to get to Dane's torso. But Dane managed to counter by continuing his spin and swinging his hand like a whip to Reiji's face, in doing so they managed hit each other at the exact same time and knocked each other back. This caused both Gilgamesh and Satan above to falter and give way to each other.

The Personas ended their clash in a draw and vanished in blue light.

Dane and Reiji stumbled back from each other and locked eyes for only a few seconds. And they charged again. "I've had enough of your shi-!"

SMASH!

Before he could finish Dane's face came in contact with an icicle that shattered on impact. With that his head rocked back and his eyes were closed tight. Reiji's eyebrows lifted in surprised and turned around to see where the shot came from. From a higher branch Hippolyta was floating beside Miwa with her whip encased in a thin layer of ice. Miwa shouted, "Don't move Reiji! A step further and I might hit you!"

Reiji nodded and took small jump back. Dane recovered and put himself up straight while a small trickle of blood flowed down his forehead and over his right eye. Not to mention his eyes were wide with sheer rage. Teeth gritted, he growled like an animal and swung his hand over in Miwa's location. "Satan! Burn her alive with agidynes!"

Satan came back in blue light a fair distance away from Miwa. It faced its palms at each other and a fireball formed between its hands and Satan pushed its hands forth to launch the fireball at Miwa. But two more sounds of shattering glass were heard and the valiant angel Ariel flew down from above and intercepted the flaming orb, both exploding and disappearing in a standstill. Soon after Gilgamesh appeared in front of Satan and threw a right hook at the demonic Persona while Satan launched another fireball. The two Personas were too close and the punch impacted the developing flame orb, causing it to implode and eliminate both the Personas.

Miwa shielded her eyes from all the chaos and as soon as the shockwave of the explosions passed she turned her gaze to Nanako and Reiji. Nanako looked back, gave a small smile and shouted, "Take your shot Miwa!"

Miwa nodded back and swung her whip onto her tarot card. "Hippolyta! Freeze him with mabufu!" A crack from the whip and glass shattering was heard and Hippolyta reappeared with her whip ready to lash out. The Persona lashed the whip out with dozens of icicles forming and flying to Dane. Dane wasn't as fast as he was before due to his multiple injuries and was forced to brace the impact from all the icicles by crossing his arms in front of his face.

This time around he was more resilient to the ice projectiles. The shower of icicles soon ended and Dane trembled.

But he didn't treble out of fear. "You fools..." he hissed, "You think that little shower of ice can take out me!" He brought down his hands and showed his anger filed face. "I am an Arcana Knight! I am an absolute power under Lord Zorn! Don't you dare mock me!"

"We aren't mocking you," Miwa replied with a small smile, "Just simply binding you."

Dane's eyes narrowed at what Miwa had said. Then he realised he couldn't feel his legs.

His eyes swiftly shifted downward and saw his feet encased together in a block of ice. "W-what the -!"

"Thanks for the opening, Miwa!" Nanako called out as she charged forward with her tarot card in hand. Clenching the card, it shattered and Ariel returned flying beside Nanako. "Arm Chopper!" Ariel brought her silver rapier out to her right and swung it sideways to the left at Dane. The Arcana Knight quickly drew his sword and lifted up to his left. Just in time, the sword took most of the more lethal force Ariel's attack would done to Dane but the sheer force managed to rock him off the branch and into the clearing between the colossal trees. Dane tried to balance himself but the ice encasing his feet was still intact.

"Shit!" he swore, "Break you damn-!" He stopped in mid-sentence as a bright light shined from above him. He looked up to see the angel Persona above him lifting her scales in her left hand up. Dane quickly turned his vision to Nanako who had closed her eyes and put her hands together in prayer.

A circle of light formed underneath Dane and began to grow into the size of a coffee table. But Dane was passing over it as he soared past. Satisfaction came across his face and he was about to shout out until Nanako closed her eyes even harder. The circle grew larger and larger, expanding until the entire clearing between the trees which was as large as a football field was consumed. Dane's eyes widened like an owl's.

Nanako slowly opened her eyes and gave Dane one final stare. "Vanish in the light..." she whispered.

And once again a bright, golden light shined the entire forest of darkness.

* * *

_At that moment..._

Mitsuru and Fuuka shielded their eyes as a light as bright as the sun flashed through the darkness above them. As the light faded Mitsuru lowered her arm and stared at the very space where the light had come from. "Again, another light," she muttered, "Amada's pushing himself."

"Senpai," Fuuka began nervously, "Th-that light wasn't from Ken-kun..."

Mitsuru turned to the sensor specialist with her eyes widening by a fraction. "What do you mean Yamagishi? Amada is the only one up there with light abilities besides-" She paused as the realisation hit her and then whispered out the last part of her sentence, "Nanako..."

Suddenly a door of darkness appeared on a higher branch. Tendrils of shadow poured out and lingered around the door as an old man in a white martial art gi stepped out. He stroked his beard while looking up towards the treetops. "Where did I go wrong with him?" he pondered out loud. He looked down below and scanned the immediate area, searching for anybody who might have seen him.

There was nobody to be seen. Satisfied, the old man jumped from one branch to another, disappearing into the darkness above.

From behind a tree Mitsuru and Fuuka slowly crept out from the shadows. Fuuka breathed out a long sigh, "Thank goodness."

Mitsuru, on the other hand, was not so pleased. "Yamagishi, did you get a reading on that man? I'm not as good as sensor as I was before but..."

"I read him Mitsuru-senpai," Fuuka replied, her expression becoming grim, "His power was... immense. I could feel his power even without Juno. I..." she put her trebling hands together in prayer, "...I don't think we could win against him on our own..."

* * *

Nanako dropped to her knees and hands and breathed out heavily. Her arms were trembling with exhaustion. "W-we... did it..."

Reiji leapt over to Nanako and carefully reached out to her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked, "You look as if you went in all of the running events in the school festival."

Nanako just smiled and staggered up. "A hama attack..." she started, inhaling breath as she went, "As big as that one... took a lot out of me. I'll be fine after I rest..."

A sound of footsteps caught Nanako's attention. She turned to see her teacher walking towards her with Miwa and Koromaru not far behind jogging to them.

"That was... really impressive Nanako," said Ken, "I've been able to do one that large..."

Nanako's smile became brighter. "Thank you Ken-san. If you hadn't taught me that I would've never been able to catch Dane like that."

Ken smiled warmly at her. "I am a teacher. If I don't teach you something that saves your life, I'm not doing a good job then."

The four humans gave a small round of laughter as the dog began wagging its tail faster than before.

"Ha..." Nanako slowly let the small laughter down, "I... I think I need some rest..."

Miwa walked over to her and gave her a light pat on the back as she said, "I'd say. You gave Dane what he deserved." She looked down on the clearing to the dark depths below. "Knowing that monster, he would probably survive but at least he's out of commission..."

Nanako nodded slowly and gave a small smile. "Let's go back down. Everyone's probably waiting down there."

"Let's hope they're alright," Ken said as he used his spear as walking stick.

Nanako's smile became a slightly bigger. "Knowing Yuuta and Maiko, I'm sure everything's okay-"

Suddenly out of the shadows a swift figure ran out and grabbed Nanako's mouth from behind and held a sword to her throat. Everything sprung to action too late as they only realised what had happened. Ken thrust out his arm to Nanako. "Nanako!" he yelled out.

"Nobody move," the blue haired man who had Nanako hostage growled, "If I see one card or gun drawn she gets it." Nanako shifted her eyes to her side to see Dane craning his neck so his mouth was beside Nanako's ear. His ragged breath huffed into her neck. "For a mouse, you sure know how to put up a fight..."

Reiji pointed an accusing finger at Dane. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Why aren't you dead yet!"

Dane's mouth moved into a snarl, "I can endure a bit of light. Though that hama did do a number on me, I ain't losing to a bunch of amateurs."

Miwa took a step forward and clenched her fists as she shouted, "We 'amateurs' just beat you at your own game! Now let Nanako go!"

"YOU THINK IT'S THAT EASY!" Dane yelled back, "I AM AN ARCANA KNIGHT! LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION FOR ME! I AM ONE OF THE BEST! AN ELITE! I SACRIFICED ALMOST EVERYTHING TO GAIN MY POWER AND TO FAIL WITH IT IS WORST THAN DEATH TO ME! YOU AMATEURS COULD NEVER UNDERSTA-!"

"Enough!"

Dane snapped his attention to the man in orange. Ken slowly breathed to reign in the silence. "Just," he slowly started, "Let her go. Just let Nanako go, and you can have me."

Nanako's eyes widened at his announcement and as soon as the sentence finished she shook her head to side to side as far as Dane's arm allowed her. "Mnnn!"

"Ken-sensei!" Miwa shouted, shocked at Ken's proposition, "Think about this!"

Reiji joined in, "You can't be serious!"

Ken brushed off the protests and looked Nanako in the eye. "Nanako, I promised your father that I'd protect you." Ken bit his lip, "You can't die here. I won't let you die here." Nanako's eyes softened as the words passed into her ears.

Then her eyes widened again along with Reiji's and Miwa's as Satan suddenly came out of the shadows and slapped Ken from the front. Ken didn't even get the chance to defend himself as he was sent soaring down to the ground far below.

"Then I guess you don't mind dying first," Dane spat out.

"Ken-sensei!" Reiji and Miwa screamed out after running out to where their teacher was just then and looked down to where he fell. Nanako started to shake within her captor's arms and her eyes stared down, as if she was following where Ken had fell. It only her a few moments to find tears swelling up in her eyes.

Dane took notice of this and simply brought his sword closer to her throat. "Don't you worry," he soothed cruelly, "You're about to join him."

Reiji turned to them and ran as fast as legs could take him. "Stop it!"

"Farewell," Dane whispered and he pulled his sword inward.

"NO!" Miwa screamed with tears coming out of her eyes.

Dane's blade suddenly stopped before Nanako's skin and the sword was trembling in its master's hold. The reason was there was an elderly hand holding the blade back from slitting Nanako's throat. An old man in a white gi had appeared in front of Dane and Nanako and had single-handily saved Nanako. Dane's eyes were very wide at the sight of this man and his shock was apparent from his shaking hold of his sword. He whispered out with fear, "Meguri sensei..."

'_Meguri!'_ Reiji cried out in his mind, _'Shit, another Arcana Knight. That's all we needed!'_

"Dane," the man who apparently Meguri sorrowfully murmured, "This is not the way I tried to teach you-"

Dane's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Teach me!" he spat, "You were too worried of my other brothers to teach me anything! I could never grow stronger under you! Peace and tranquillity will never happen for everyone! You're a senile old has-been to believe in such sh-!"

Before Dane could continue with his rant the old man swift turned on the spot and gave Dane a karate chop to the neck. Winded, Dane dropped his sword and Nanako and staggered back. "Gak!"

As Nanako was suddenly freed she was about to stumble forward but then an arm wrapped in white gentle caught her from the front. Nanako looked up to see Meguri looking right back at her with his eyes that had the shine of youth even though his slightly aged skin surrounded it. The old man gave a sad, gentle frown before letting her off. "Please forgive my student, young one. His actions today are not the proudest..."

Nanako's eyes snapped wide open, rage burning in them. "Forgive him!" she screamed at the old man with her fist lifted at him, "He killed our teacher! He killed Ken!"

The old man was taken aback by the screaming but he regained his composure a moment later. "Your teacher, you say?" he asked in his deep, humble voice, "The one clad in an orange jacket?"

Nanako froze. She did not expect such a thing to be said by the old man.

Meguri waved his hand down to the clearing beside them. Nanako, Reiji and Miwa slowly looked in his hand's direction and what they saw brought their spirits up.

In the centre of the darkness a small golden light shined. The light grew brighter and bigger and within the golden light a shape was forming. They could make out a pair of long horns and a long body covered in golden scales. Gliding towards them was a beast in the shape of a snake but with a mouth of a lion's. A gold dragon.

And limp on the back of that dragon was man of tall height and an orange jacket on his shoulders...

"Ken-san!" Nanako cried out with joy. She didn't seem to notice the tears that came running down her cheek.

Meguri gave a warm small. "I caught him on the way up. He seemed to be beaten quite badly." Meguri turned his gaze to Dane and the frown of sorrow and disappointment returned. "I can think of how it happened."

Dane didn't respond. He just simply rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the ground while gritting his teeth. The dragon reached the tree branch they were currently standing on and gently brushed Ken onto the branch. Nanako ran over to him and cradle his unconscious form with care. Meguri snapped his fingers and the dragon disappeared in blue and golden light. "I had Kohryu heal his wounds. He will live."

Meguri walked over to him and in a grim voice asked, "Did you really think it was right to disobey Lord Zorn's direct orders?"

Dane remained silent. With that Meguri took his hand away from his neck, revealing a small red tattoo in the shape of a Zorn's butterfly mask. Meguri's eyes narrowed at this. "You went off fighting the opposition without taking off your limiter? What were you thinking?"

Reiji snapped to attention at this point. "Limiter? You mean after all that you still weren't going all out!"

Dane looked distastefully at Reiji. "I didn't need to use half of my powers to face you amateurs."

"Half!" Miwa blurted out, "You almost killed Ken-sensei with only half your strength!"

Dane stepped forward and was about to retort but Meguri stopped him by thrusting his arm out in front of him. "Enough Dane," Meguri ordered, "You've already breached your authority, are you willing to breach your parole?"

Dane chided and stepped down. Meguri turned to the teenagers. "I assure you children, your teacher is one to be praised. After all these years in hibernation his Persona wasn't exactly battle ready. I do believe if your teacher was given enough time he would've been able to fight my student on more even ground."

Reiji pointed another accusing finger at Meguri. "Don't get too friendly," he growled, "If I overheard Nanako's lesson with Kirijo-san right, you're Meguri, one of the five top Arcana Knights. In other words, one of Zorn's goons. I don't trust you."

Meguri became silent for moment. The silence hanged in the air heavily before he finally spoke, "You must understand child, even though Lord Zorn is your enemy not all of his army truly means any of you harm."

"Are we supposed to believe that?" Miwa cautiously retorted.

"That is up to you to decide."

Nanako looked up into the old man's eyes. After giving it a good look she said, "I appreciate your help Meguri, but if you stay any longer I can't promise anything peaceful."

Meguri nodded. "That is more than I can ask for." He turned and walked past Dane, who was now clenching his injured arm. "The adrenaline pack is wearing off. We will return to base to see to those injuries."

Dane remained silent. He merely turned to walk with Meguri. Meguri took out a gold amulet from his sleeve and murmured, "Traesto."

A door of darkness appeared before him. Meguri turned to his student and waved his right hand to the door, gesturing that he should go in first. Dane didn't argue and walk to the darkness.

"Wait!"

Dane stopped at the shout. He turned and saw Nanako glaring at him. "... This isn't over," Nanako said to him.

The blue haired Arcana Knight's mouth twitched into a small smile. "No," he whispered, "No it isn't." He took a breath and shouted, "NEXT TIME WE FIGHT, I'LL DEFINITELY KILL YOU GIRL!"

"My name isn't 'girl' or 'mouse'," Nanako replied with more confidence, "It's Nanako Dojima. And I'll defeat you the next time we fight."

Dane simply scowled and walked into the darkness. "Hmf!"

Meguri stood and bowed to the teenagers. "I commend you three on such courage you showed against my student. I promise that no other Arcana Knight will interfere with the preliminaries anymore."

Reiji clenched his fist. "You better live up to that. You Knights are way too overpowered."

"I keep my promises," Meguri replied, "And tell the two women who saw me enter that they need to work on their stealth." Reiji's brow narrowed in confusion.

With that, Meguri turned and took his leave. As he disappeared into the door of darkness the door closed and the teenagers, the unconscious teacher and the limping dog were left alone.

Reiji clenched his fists harder. "Dammit. We didn't win that one. It's too disgraceful to be called a victory."

Miwa looked off into the distance. "I'm just glad none of us died..."

Kneeling down and cradling Ken's head, Nanako simply didn't say anything. Koromaru Junior went up to her and licked her hand. Nanako turned to see how Koromaru Junior was trying to cheer her up and she smiled softly. "Thanks Junior..."

All of a sudden a tall female Persona raised up from the below and on her back was Mitsuru and Fuuka. "Is everyone alright?" Mitsuru called out.

"Mitsuru-san!" Miwa cried out with a small tone of relief.

Artemisia dispersed and Mitsuru and Fuuka landed onto the branch. Fuuka ran to Nanako and Ken and cried out, "Ken-kun!" She knelt down to see if the unconscious teacher had any severe injuries. "I thought I lost his voice for a moment! I-!"

Nanako brought her hand onto Fuuka's shoulder in reassurance. "It's okay Fuuka-san. He's alright."

Mitsuru inspected every one of them to see any emergencies were apparent. She shortly stopped and asked Nanako, "What happened? Where's the enemy?"

The three teenagers just looked downwards, reluctant to answer. Nanako eventually did though. "He's gone. But even though he's gone and we're alright...

"... we lost."

* * *

Nanako and the rest of S.E.E.S have claimed their pyrrhic victory. But tensions weigh heavily on the three who just dodged the bullet of death fired by Arcana Knight Dane. Does the man Margaret mentioned, Fenrir, hold any hope for them? He better have, because the end of the Forest is just around the corner...


	12. Chapter 12 Quelas City

**Advertisement!: Wanted! Artists who are willing to draw the five main characters of Persona 4 FES the New Generation are welcomed! Please send a private message to me if interested. Artists from deviantart are preferable. Please send link to drawing if accepted and done.**

**And as always, Read and Review!**

* * *

The dark forest's trees were once again silent as they were tall. The wind was still and didn't move even a single leaf from its branch. Much like the atmosphere was when Gilgamesh and Artemisia descended down to the ground. Cradled in Gilgamesh's hands Nanako was taking care of the unconscious Ken while Reiji rode on his Persona's back. Mitsuru rode on Artemisia's back while her Persona carried Fuuka and Miwa in each arm. Koromaru Junior was sound asleep in Fuuka's arms. When the two Personas slowly and gently reached the floor of the forest they carefully let down their passengers as their masters jumped off. When everyone was on the ground they vanished with a dim blue light.

Nanako and Reiji carefully laid Ken on the ground. As soon as he was lying down on the ground Nanako kneeled over him with worried eyes. She parted his hair

Reiji broke the long silence. "The others have been down there for a while. How are they going Yamagishi-san?"

Fuuka pit her hands together in prayer and summoned Juno over her. "Let's see... they're still underground but they look alright-" Fuuka's eyes opened suddenly, "Huh? Th-they're coming up fast! How are they-?"

Suddenly the ground not far away from them erupted with a green tornado of wind spinning upward spitting out specks of dirt. Soon the tornado dispersed and revealed a man on a motorcycle driving upwards.

"Zephyrus?" Miwa exclaimed as the Persona disappeared afterwards.

Just after the Persona disappeared another one rose up from the hole Zephyrus made carrying familiar faces. One of them was Yuuta and as soon as he saw Nanako and the others he grinned and waved to them. "How's it going everyone?" he happily asked.

"Well, you people know how to make an entrance," Reiji called out as he wiped off some flying specks of dirt from his forehead.

Isis hovered away from the hole and let everyone off her. Maiko jumped off and landed on both feet. She separated her hair away from her face and gave a smile. "You guys look like you came out alright," she commented.

Nanako, Miwa and Reiji looked at their friends for a moment and then turned their heads away, not looking them in the eye. Maiko took notice and frown slightly. "You did come out alright... didn't you?"

"If our pride doesn't count, then yeah, we came out a-okay" Reiji mumbled. Reiji walked away from the group.

Akihiko noticed his disciple's attitude and narrowed his eyebrows. He jumped off Isis and went after him, calling out "Reiji, wait up."

As soon as Reiji and Akihiko left Miwa suddenly stated "I need to be alone for a while." She walked off in a different direction than Reiji did.

"H-hey!" Yuuta called out to her, "Where are you going Miwa?"

She didn't answer and continued walking. Maiko and Yuuta looked at each other, confused by their friends' behaviour, and they split up with Yuuta going after Miwa and Maiko following Akihiko and Reiji.

"D-did we miss something?" Junpei asked to no one in particular as he climbed down Isis while carrying the still unconscious Hitotsu.

Yukari and Aegis saw the unconscious Ken and an injured Koromaru and gasped. Aegis quickly jumped off Yukari's Persona as Yukari dismissed Isis soon after. "Ken-kun!" they both cried out when they knelt over him. Yukari held her hands to her mouth, "What happened to him?"

Mitsuru put her hands between them and Ken to give him some space and answered, "The three of them and Amada and Koromaru faced an overwhelming opponent. They almost died in the attempt." Mitsuru crossed her arms, "And I'm not sure that this is better, but they were saved by the mercy of a more fearsome enemy. They may have survived but..."

Mitsuru turned her gaze to Nanako, who was just hanging her head while she knelt down with Ken's head resting in her lap. "... I think they're hurt more mentally than physically." She walked in the direction Miwa had walked off to, "I should see to Takahashi. See if we can set up some shelter, we won't be going any further tonight."

As Mitsuru went off Aegis knelt next to Nanako. "Nanako-chan?" she softly tried to speak to her.

Nanako whipped her head up and blinked. "A-aegis-san?" she stuttered.

"You okay Nanako-chan?" Yukari asked, "You seem a little out of it."

Nanako blinked again and then waved both her hands in reassurance. "I-I'm fine Yukari-san! I mean, we're all alive and that's all that matters, right?"

Then she looked down and brought her hands down as well. "That's all matters..."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Reiji! I said wait!"

After walking off through the forest's dark paths Reiji stopped at Akihiko's second call. When the elder one caught up he crossed his arms. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Reiji clenched his fists and then relaxed them and his shoulders. He turned to his teacher and replied, "I got my ass my kicked and because of that everyone else got their ass kicked. That's what's wrong with me. I tried being the shield and instead I ended up being dirt." Reiji clenched his fist again. "I was... powerless against that punk."

'_Powerless...'_ Reiji's words echoed in Akihiko's mind, '_I know how that feels.'_

Reiji then looked Akihiko in the eye with grit. "Akihiko-sensei!" he cried out all of a sudden before bowing down like a toad, "I need to be stronger! Please teach me so that I won't fail everyone like that ever again!"

Akihiko didn't move. His calm expression hadn't moved. Reiji waited in his bow for a response. After a moment of silence between them Akihiko finally answered, "Reiji, you may want to reconsider your goal."

Reiji looked up at Akihiko, his eyes questioning his answer. "W-what?"

Akihiko turned and walked slowly back to where the others were. As he did he continued, "If you search for power for too long, you'll end up obsessing over it. Gaining power will be all that you'll think about and all that you'll be doing. If you do that for long enough..." Akihiko turned his head with a sad smile, "You might lose something that will never come back." He turned his head forward and quickened his pace. "No matter how much power we have, we'll always have something to lose. Think about it."

Akihiko faded into the darkness as he returned to the group. The green haired teenager, however, slowly got out of his bow and crossed his legs. He placed his back on the nearest tree and sighed. "Lose something that'll never come back?" he asked himself, "That doesn't answer anything." He put his head in his hands, "What the hell should do...?"

"Are you okay?"

Reiji jumped at the second voice and swiftly turned behind him. Around to his right next to the same tree he was resting on was Maiko. She was slightly startled at Reiji's flinch but she soon sat down next to him. "Sorry if I startled you," she apologised, "You seemed a little stressed so I thought I should check up on you."

"Um... thanks," Reiji replied as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Maiko shrugged and smiled. "No biggie. Where's Akihiko-san? I thought he went after you."

Reiji blinked. "Uh... he was just here. You just missed him. He came to check on me like you did."

The girl next to him nodded. "I see," she confirmed. Then her gaze went to Reiji's chest and her eyes narrowed slightly. "... Show me your stomach."

Reiji was taken aback by her order. "H-huh?"

Maiko simply pointed to his stomach. "You're sitting back yet your back isn't even arched a little and after whatever you've been through I doubt you have the strength to sit up straight. You've injured your front somehow and you're sitting up straight, so I think it's either your chest or your stomach. Show it me now."

Reiji's cheeks flared up in a pink colour but Maiko was too concentrated on his hidden injury to notice. He nervously unbuttoned his school jacket and shirt and revealed his bare front. It was well toned but not overly muscular and the skin covering his lower left ribs had a patch of purple colour to it.

"I knew it," said Maiko. She dug into her pocket and took out a pisyx. She pressed its button and in a small flash a red first aid kit box had replaced the pisyx. She quickly opened it and took out a roll of bandages. "I know dia and regeneration can heal wounds and broken bones, but the bruises aren't as easy to get rid of and there might be a fractured rib in there too. Come here."

Reiji hesitantly sat a little closer to Maiko but he wasn't close enough for her to bandage him. She waved her hand up and down in gesture for to come closer. "Come on, I won't bite."

The teenage boy grudgingly moved closer as the girl was unaware how awkward this was for him. Maiko started to wrap the bandage from Reiji's lower torso and she continued wrapping from there until up to the chest.

Reiji eyes were looking away as she wrapped up his bruise. "Y-you sure know a lot about injuries huh?" he asked.

Maiko simply smiled at the comment. "Well, I didn't live in America with my dad to learn the same old stuff they teach in regular schools."

Reiji's eyes returned to hers in surprise. "You went to America?"

"For a year," she replied as she wrapped the end of the bandage diagonally around his right shoulder, "My mom said that living with my dad for a while would be a good experience and he was working in a Washington state at the time. The school I went to had many activities though not many people wanted to do them. But it was compulsory to have an activity so I had to choose something." After wrapping the bandage for the fourth time she brought the end of the bandage back down to the torso and held it together by sticking a butterfly clip. "There! That should help!"

Reiji rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks. You said you had to do an activity, right? Did you take a first aid club?"

Maiko shook her head. "No. To tell the truth, I was a little late with my decision. Most of the activities couldn't accept any more students. So I went with the last one available."

"Which was...?"

Maiko looked away for moment before slowly answering, "I joined the cadet military training club..."

Reiji's eyes widened. "I... I didn't expect that."

Maiko shrugged. "At first I thought that doing all those exercises and simulation protocols would be gruesome. But then I came to like it a lot. The club allowed us to go some military bases for excursions and such. Not to mention I got to keep the motivation to train again." Maiko went into a small smile, "Before that I was just wondering whether I should continue practicing the moves Minato taught me or try to be like a normal girl. I guess joining that club really got me to my senses again. There's nothing wrong with girl who can fight, right?"

When Maiko broke into her smile Reiji's vision went blurry except for Maiko. As she finished her talk Reiji snapped back to reality. "Uh- yeah! There's nothing wrong with that."

Maiko's smile became a little brighter at the answer. She stood up and waved. "I'll see you back with the others. Don't move too much in the meantime." With that she walked away.

Alone again, Reiji looked out to where Maiko had left. He then looked down at his bandages, at what Maiko had done for him. His shoulders sagged as he breathed out a sigh. "Something to lose, huh?"

He gripped his fists together, pumped his arms and stood up to head back. "Guess I have some things like that after all..."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"I keep telling you, leave me alone!"

"And I keep telling you, stop yelling at me!"

Miwa had started off walking through the forest in her attempt for privacy but after Yuuta came after her she began picking up the pace. Now she was running through the forest with Yuuta running close behind. "I just want some time to myself Yuuta! So just leave me alone!"

"Oh, come on Miwa!" Yuuta retorted as he ran behind her, "You won't tell what's wrong and I'm not leaving you alone until you do!"

It was not a very smart thing to say on his part. Miwa then stopped running and twirled around with her hand flat out. "Just cut it out!"

_SLAP!_

A split second after Miwa whipped her hand out she blinked and realised what she did. And after that second Yuuta had tripped over thanks to her slap and was on the ground clenching his teeth with both hands. "Ow..." he moaned, "You sure know how to hit..."

"Omigosh!" Miwa cried, "I'm so sorry! I-I...!"

"It's okay," Yuuta spoke out before she got frantic. He sat up, rubbed his cheek and looked back at her. "I should really be asking if you were okay."

Miwa blinked. "W-what?"

Yuuta rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I really don't understand what really happened with you and the others. I just wanted to know why you're so upset about it."

Miwa's anger in her eyes simmered down at the acknowledgement of Yuuta's concern. "... Do you really want to know?"

The boy shrugged and said, "Maybe, maybe not. But if it helps you feel better, then sure."

Miwa said nothing after a while. This made Yuuta a little more concerned and he got up to get a closer look of her face. "Miwa...?"

Her head suddenly bent down and she brought her hands to her face to bury her head in. She started sniffling and a thin stream of tears escaped the cup of her hands. In a final sign of her despair she dropped to her knees and continued sobbing in her own hands. "W-wwaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Yuuta backpedalled at her sudden breakdown. "M-Miwa!"

"I-I was-!" she sobbed out, "I was so useless! Nanako and Reiji and Ken-sensei were fighting for their lives while I was- '_sob!'_ I was just playing supporter on the sidelines! I couldn't- _'hic!'_ I couldn't fight if everything depended on it!" She shakily removed her hands away from her face and Yuuta saw her tear filled eyes, "I should never have come! 'Sob!' I'm the weakest one out of everyone here! Nanako's a brilliant leader, Reiji's got his strength, Maiko has her martial arts and- and-!"

She gripped her hands to the sides of her head, "And even you're a better fighter than me! I've seen you train with Junpei and you can almost keep up with him while I can't even be compared to Mitsuru-senpai! I'm just a useless, waste of-!"

Yuuta grabbed Miwa's shoulders and shook her roughly. "Don't finish that sentence!"

Miwa immediately stopped her ranting as shaking her had brought her out of trance. Blinking she slowly looked up to the boy with his hands on her shoulders.

"You're not useless, dammit!" Yuuta yelled at her, "You may be suited for fighting from afar, but as far as can see you're the best at it! You're not the only one who watched other people train! I saw you try at facing Mitsuru-san and I can say that you weren't weak then and you are certainly not weak now!"

Yuuta locked eyes with Miwa. "I don't know what happened up there, but I'm sure as hell know that you weren't useless. So... stop crying."

Miwa stared into his eyes. She couldn't say a word.

Yuuta arched an eyebrow and waved his hand in front of her face. "Uh... you're still with me, right?"

Miwa snapped out of her trance and gently pushed away. She averted her gaze away with a pink tint to her cheeks. "Y-yeah! I was listening..." she quickly regained her cheeks' original colour and faced him again. "And... thanks for that. I needed it."

Yuuta shrugged, put his hands up and said, "No worries. I couldn't just leave you alone like that. I couldn't let anyone be upset today after what Maiko did."

Miwa's eyes narrowed at that. "Maiko?" she asked in a honeyed tone, but her aura became dark and venomous.

Oblivious as ever with his eyes closed and a grin Yuuta answered, "Yeah! She was awesome today. You should've seen her throw that arrow into that Neo-Shadow's heart! Not to mention she saved Akihiko-san. Man, what I wouldn't give to have had a camera then. And-"

CRUNCH!

"Yeow!" Yuuta cried out as he felt immense pain in his right foot.

He looked down and saw Miwa's own foot crushing his. Miwa looked up at him apologetically and innocently and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have I slipped. Maybe we should head back to the others to see if your foot's okay!"

"B-but..." Yuuta started out pathetically.

Miwa turned him around and shoved him in the direction where they came. "No buts'! Go ahead and get that foot checked! I'll catch up!"

Yuuta limped his way back. "What the hell was that all about?" he murmured.

When Yuuta was gone and Miwa thought she was alone she huffed and crossed her arms. "That guy... he can be a gentlemen one second and an inconsiderate brute the next. To think I thought he was-!"

Miwa then lightly slapped the sides of her face with both hands as she realised what she was about to say. "What am I saying? That guy will never be that good a man! He's- he's- he's Yuuta!" She calmed down and dropped her arms. Her eyes and mouth softened as she said to herself, "But I guess he can be a good guy sometimes..."

She shook her head. "Argh! I have to get back!" she cried out and she went off running.

As she left the area a tall red haired woman stepped out from behind a tree. Mitsuru Kirijo brought her hand to her chin and smiled. "I seem to have developed a habit of eavesdropping on conversations like this."

* * *

_Later..._

Yuuta managed not to whine about his foot on his way back to the rest of the group. "I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd say she was pissed about something..."

He stopped in his tracks as he saw what happened to the area where the others were. The clearing where they had regrouped was filled with a circle of tents that were about as tall as normal doors and as wide as king size beds. Aegis was putting up one at the side. In the centre of the circle Junpei and Yukari were trying to start a fire on pile of leaves and twigs surrounded by a small circle of stones. In the corner of the clearing Nanako was tending to Ken who was lying down on mat still unconscious.

"Come on already!" Junpei cried out irritated as he rubbed a horizontal stick and a vertical stick together over the pile of leaves and twigs, "Burn damn it!"

Yukari rolled eyes and handed Junpei a box of safety matches. "Here, try this Stupei."

Junpei eyed the box and then reluctantly took it and lit a match. "Man, I thought I could do it the old fashioned way. Or have Trismegistus do it."

Yuuta walked to them and caught their attention. Yukari waved to him and said, "Oh, hey! How's Miwa-chan? I hope she's not too upset."

Yuuta shrugged. "I think she got better. But now I think she's upset about something else... never mind, I probably just imagined it. I should be asking where the hell all this came from."

Junpei looked back at the tents. "You mean these? Mitsuru-senpai bought a whole bunch of these rolled up and put them in some pisyxes. Pretty handy if you want to set up camp fast."

Yuuta nodded. "You got that right. How many people can fit in one?"

"Two people per tent," Yukari answered, "And one more thing," she pointed to one side of the circle of tents. "That's the boys' side," she said in a flatter tone.

Yuuta nodded again, this time more slowly and carefully. "I get the message."

"There!" Junpei exclaimed as the fire finally lit up. The campfire flared brightly but it was calm and controlled in its stone structure. "That took a while," he sighed.

Yukari chuckled playfully. "Even though a caveman could get it faster..."

"I heard that..."

Akihiko then walked into the campsite with branches the size of tree stumps in his arms. He dropped the large branches of wood behind a tent and came over to the fire. "I see you got the fire up. I got some more wood for the night."

Aegis finished pitching up the tent she was working on and joined the circle. "Thanks Akihiko-senpai. That should last us the night."

Yuuta looked around the campsite. "This is pretty good. I wouldn't mind camping like this at home." His gaze spotted a large man in a stained iron works apron tied to a large branch at the back of campsite. "Hey," Yuuta nervously started, "Are you guys sure that'll hold him?"

Akihiko turned his head to Hitotsu. "He's no threat to anyone. His hands are bound and Aegis said due to all his injuries he won't be up till noon tomorrow... at the least. You did quite a number on him."

"Heh," Yuuta put both hands behind his head and smugly grinned, "I was born to fight the forces of evil."

Hand from behind him reached out to his ear and pinched and pulled. "Ow!"

Yuuta's eyes followed the arm the hand pinching his ear belonged to and saw Miwa. "If you were born for such a great purpose," she darkly spoke with a smile and closed eyes, "Then I guess you wouldn't mind being my taster for tonight's dinner, hmm?"

Yuuta's eyes widened fanatically. "No!" he exclaimed as he tried to escape from the grip she had on his ear, "Anything but that!"

"Now don't be silly..." Miwa sweetly soothed as she dragged him along to the other side by his ear, "I'm sure you'll enjoy dinner tonight. After all, Nanako, Maiko and I decided that we would cook the first meal on Gerra before we left Earth."

"You gotta be kidding!" Yuuta screamed. He managed to pull his ear out of Miwa's death grip and ran while loudly asking, "Maiko! Nanako! Please say it isn't true! Where are you two?"

Aegis pointed to one of the tents as he zoomed by. "You shouldn't bother Nanako at the moment but Maiko's in there."

"Thanks!" Yuuta shouted as he ran towards the tent, "Maiko! You gotta stop the disaster that's heading towards us!"

"Wait!" Aegis tried to stop him but it was too late, "I think Maiko's-!"

"Maiko!" Yuuta yelled out just as he opened the tent. Then he froze immediately.

Maiko was definitely inside the tent but not the way she would've wanted to seen. Standing in the tent Maiko her school shirt had been halfway off and her top half of her body was exposed except for a wrap of bandages around her chest that concealed the two nicely shaped mounds of her bust.

When Yuuta had opened the curtain doors of her tent Maiko and Yuuta locked eyes with each other and didn't move or speak for a moment.

Then Maiko reacted with a scream, "AAAHHHH!"

Yuuta backpedalled immediately away from the tent. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know-!"

He was interrupted in his apology as Miwa grabbed him from behind and threw him down on the ground. "Wah!" he wailed.

He land on his back and groaned. Then he gasped when Miwa's shadow came over him. "You," Miwa growled with an even darker aura surrounding her, "Do you know that boys who walk in on changing girls are to be _punished_? _Severely_?"

Yuuta merely whimpered, "If there's a god out there... please save me..."

_WHAM!_

* * *

Reiji walked into the camp and found everyone except Nanako, Ken and Yuuta sitting the ground or boulders around the campfire. Akihiko spotted him and waved. "Hey Reiji. You've cleared your head?"

The green haired adolescent nodded. "Yeah. You gave me something to think about. I understand most you what you said yet I still think I need to be stronger, fast. But I guess I'll stick to what you say sensei. I think I can handle it."

Akihiko nodded, looking a little pleased. "You better."

At that moment Mitsuru walked into the camp and smiled at the sight of it. "I have to say," she started, "I'm very impressed. This should give us shelter for the night."

The silver-haired officer nodded. "Yeah," he replied, "But in case we get attacked again I think someone should stand guard. We can do it in shifts."

"Good suggestion," Mitsuru complimented before sitting on a log as big as a chair, "We'll decide who'll stand guard tonight then."

"Auuuhhh..."

Reiji looked around at the sound of moaning. "What was that?"

His senior teacher simply chuckled. He put up his thumb, pointed it to a tree and said "Take a look over there."

Reiji walked over behind some tents and saw Hitotsu unconscious and tied up to the tree trunk. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was that him?"

"Look on the other side," Akihiko called out.

Confused, Reiji made his way around the tree and saw someone else tied to the tree. His face was covered with bruises but it was recognisable for Reiji to realise who he was.

Yuuta.

"Yuuta?" Reiji loudly questioned, "What the hell happened to you?"

Yuuta hung his head down. "You don't want to know..."

* * *

The campfire lit up the campsite in an orange glow as the members of S.E.E.S sat around it. Each of the members, except for Ken, were there eating from plates of rice and vegetables.

Miwa sat on a log with her mouth in a frown. _'_Sigh'

Mitsuru was on the log next to her and she turned to her when her sigh broke out. "Is something the matter Takahashi?"

Miwa faced her mentor and shrugged. "I was really looking forward to cooking dinner. It's just too bad that we couldn't store a refrigerator in a pisyx. Then we would have a lot more ingredients."

Yuuta looked up munching on his food and said, "That still wouldn't have made your cooking good..."

Miwa glared at him. "I take it that you want to go back to your tree and go hungry?"

"No ma'am," Yuuta quickly said and then began eating faster than before. His bruises were lighter but Miwa's anger brought the tingling pain back.

"The vegetables in the native area are quite editable and should be sufficient for a meal," Aegis reported before things went out of hand again between Miwa and Yuuta. "Steaming the rice stored in our pisyxes made a good side dish."

Fuuka dejectedly replied, "Still, it is a little disappointing that we won't be able to cook a proper meal tonight." Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Nanako staring at the floor and her untouched plate of rice. "Nanako-chan?"

Nanako lifted her head up in surprise. "Y-yes?"

"Are you feeling unwell? You haven't touched your food."

"I-I'm fine, really," Nanako assured Fuuka. She said it not very convincingly but Fuuka saw the absence the Nanako's usual spark in her eye so she decided not to push it any further.

She decided to change the subject. "How's Ken-kun recovering? I haven't seen you leave his side since your battle."

Nanako flinched slightly at Fuuka's question but she suppressed it so it wouldn't be seen. "He'll be alright. He got hit hard but thanks to Meguri Ken-sensei only has some minor bruises."

"I'm not sure whether we can trust this 'Meguri' to his word just yet," Reiji inputted before munching down a spoon of rice.

Mitsuru elegantly finished her meal and brought her plate to a tub filled with soapy water. She looked around and saw that most of her friends were almost finished with their meals too. She spoke out to them, "We've all had a long day, but if Yamagishi's calculations are correct then we should be out of this forest by midday if we start travelling by morning. I want everyone to rest up for tonight after you have finished eating, we can't waste anymore time now."

Yuuta gulped down the rest of his food and quickly went over to drop his plate in the tub. "Great!" he responded with joy, "In that case, good night every-!"

"Wait just minute Minami," Mitsuru interrupted, "You, on the other hand, will clean up the dishes after everyone has finished. Think of it as part of your punishment for walking in without permission from a woman."

Yuuta hung his head down and moaned, "I should've known it was too good to be true..."

Mitsuru turned back to the rest of the group. "We'll also need someone to stay up and keep watch. We'll have hourly shifts so that all of us get enough sleep."

"I volunteer for the first shift."

Everyone looked at Nanako as she walked up and gave Koromaru Junior her plate which still had a bit vegetables and rice. The red-eye dog happily tucked in as Nanako continued, "I don't mind taking up the first hour."

Mitsuru looked at Nanako surprised at her proposition. She soon after replied, "Very well Dojima, you can take up the first watch. I'll figure out the others before you start." She turned back to the others and continued, "In the meantime I suggest all of you discuss who will be sharing tents. I have already established that Takahashi and I will be sharing."

"Yuuta, you better not wake me up when you come in," Reiji flatly stated as he tossed his plate into the tub in front of Yuuta.

"Wait a minute!" Yuuta protested, "I haven't said anything about sharing-!"

"Get used to it," Reiji mumbled as he turned away towards the tents, "Akihiko-sensei and Junpei-san are already sharing and Ken-sensei's getting a single tent 'cause he's out of it. And I don't think the girls want you after whatever you did."

Yuuta pouted. "Fine! Fine! I didn't really see much though. Maiko should wear more than bandages for a chest of that size..."

As Yuuta's words past Reiji's ears Reiji stopped in his place, walked back to the wash tub and quietly said something that wasn't loud enough for Yuuta to hear.

"What did you say?" Yuuta asked.

Reiji crouched down a little closer to him and whispered, "S-she wears bandages?"

A grin crept up Yuuta's mouth as conspicuous thoughts ran through his head. Then his bruises tingled again and his grin turned into a grimace. "Let's not talk about that. I've already had enough punishment for one day..."

* * *

_Later that night..._

"_Die! You second-rate teacher!" A dark image of Dane swung his sword down at Ken with a ring of fire surrounding them. Ken jumped back and stumbled as he panted for breath and his head was running down with sweat._

_Dane's shadowed form grew a wide grin with white teeth and pulled up an unconscious Nanako by her collar. "You forgot someone," he sneered evilly. A blue flashed and Satan came down, black as night and still as grotesque as ever. Dane threw Nanako up to Satan and the monstrous Persona brought up a ball of fire so large it would consume her._

_Ken's eyes widened in fear and he sprinted forward trying to reach out to her. But he was too late as Satan engulfed Nanako in its searing flame. "NO!"_

'GASP!' Ken shot straight up wide eyed and breathing heavily. He panted deeply with each breath and took a moment to see the sudden change in surroundings. He dashed his head left and right and saw thick orange fabric walls and a ceiling only half a metre above his head. He looked down and noticed he was covered with a blanket and was lying on a foam mat. He turned to see a pillow with deep indent in the centre. After taking in his surroundings he rubbed his right hand up his forehead and into his hair. He found them moist with sweat. Ken put his hand down and felt a soft fabric. He looked down to his hand and saw his favourite orange jacket, perfectly intact with a few stitches here and there.

Ken confusingly looked at the jacket. _'Wasn't I,'_ he thought, _'fighting with...?'_

He shook his head and put his orange jacket over his white shirt. Flinging the blanket aside he stood up and reached out to the gap of one of the fabric walls. He pushed the fabric doors away and stood out to the open.

The sky was dark with stars shining brightly across the black abyss and a fire was dimly lit in the centre of the circle of tents. Ken gazed across the campsite. _'I guess... we made it.'_

Then his eyes spotted a young girl in Yasogami High uniform sitting on a boulder looking away from the campsite. From the back of her head Ken recognised who those twin ponytail hairstyle belonged to. He walked quietly and approached his student without her notice. He reached out to her shoulder and said, "Nanako?"

Nanako twirled around with her bladed claws ready. She was about to bring the blade to Ken's neck when she saw his face. She stopped in her tracks and the two of them stared at each other without saying a word. Ken eventually broke the silence, "Is... is everything okay?"

Nanako dropped her ninja claws and quickly gave Ken a tight hug around his chest with her eyes locked closed. Ken was ecstatic while she embraced him. "Uh, um, uh..." was all he managed to mumble out.

"You're okay," Nanako tenderly sobbed, "You woke up. I... I thought that Dane had killed you up there Ken-san..."

Her teacher looked down to her gently and placed his hand on her head. "I'm sorry I worried you. I take it that you were able to get away from Dane?"

Nanako sniffed and let go of him. She shook her head and wept, "We couldn't beat him Ken-san. We were saved by another Arcana Knight before Dane could kill the rest of us." A tear managed to leak down her cheek as the rest of the tears were holed up in the corners of her eyes. "... I'm so sorry."

Ken didn't understand. "For what?"

Nanako's tears finally burst out like a dam, "If I was only stronger he wouldn't have come back and hurt you like that! And I was always the one getting captured and getting held hostage as you beat yourself up trying to save me! I shouldn't have come here! I'm not ready to lead the others like they expect me to! I didn't-! I couldn't-!"

Ken put two fingers over her mouth to stop her sobbing. "Hush," he gently whispered, "It's not your fault."

His student didn't agree. "But I-!"

"Did very well against that Arcana Knight," Ken interrupted, "You saw what he could do. He was too much for us. When you and Miwa and Reiji stood up to him when I was finished I thought that I had failed as your teacher and protector." He gave a small smile, "But you and the others managed to push him back. I saw all three of you grow then and I was so proud of you guys. We probably wouldn't be here if you didn't hold him off long enough for help to arrive. It may not be much, but you guys held in there. I couldn't find a better group of students than Maiko, Reiji, Yuuta, Miwa and... you."

Nanako looked into Ken's eyes and closed her own with a smile of relief. "Thank you... Ken-san."

* * *

Akihiko brought himself out of his tent and stood up in the open air. "Guess it's my turn-"

He froze when his eyes gazed on the boulder where he would be taking his look out shift. There he saw Nanako, fast asleep, lying down in with her head in Ken's lap. Ken looked up and waved, "Hey."

Akihiko looked baffled for only a moment before sitting down next to him chuckling, "You're up and about early."

Ken shrugged and stared down on Nanako peaceful face. "I never thought that I would... find something like this as a teacher."

The silver haired policeman gave Ken a curious look. "You mean this mission? Or her?"

Ken choked at his question but quickly regained composure. "I... I'm not sure. But I think I'll find out eventually."

Akihiko smiled warmly to his friend. "I'm sure you will Ken. I'm sure you will."

* * *

Light broke through the forest's shadows as morning came. The chirping of birds stirred Nanako out of her sleep. She opened her eyes groggily and faintly saw she was in a tent with a blanket covering her. She jumped up and opened her tent and saw multiple members of S.E.E.S walking around carrying the camp supplies up. Miwa walked by with a packed tent bag in her hands and spotted Nanako and waved to her.

"Good morning!" she cheerfully greeted Nanako, "How was your sleep?"

Nanako noticed that she had a slight tightening in her back rolled her shoulders to stretch it out. "Alright, I guess." She looked around looking for a certain someone and asked Miwa, "Have you seen Ken-san?"

Miwa' smile got brighter as she replied, "Yeah. I was surprised he was up already after all he went through. He said something about sore muscles but Mitsuru-san said that he'll be okay."

Nanako sighed calmly. _'So last night wasn't a dream...'_

"Hey Nanako!"

Nanako snapped out of her thoughts and saw Yuuta coming around towards them. "Great to see you up!" he greeted her, "We're gonna move out soon so we can see that Fenny guy you mentioned. Didn't think after going on guard duty last night you would be awake so soon."

Miwa turned to him and handed him the tent bag. "Perfect timing!" she perkily said, "I needed someone to bring this to Fuuka-san! Make sure to bring to her so we can pack it in a pisyx and move out!"

Yuuta staggered back as Miwa simply 'gave' him the bag. "Oh come on! I already did two this morning!"

Nanako laughed lightly at the sight of her friends. _'What would I do without them,' _tenderly thought.

"Morning Nanako!" a voice from behind her sounded.

Nanako lightly jumped in surprise. "Ah!"

"Calm down, it's me," Maiko cheerfully greeted as Nanako twirled around to see her.

Reiji was close behind her carrying another tent bag. "I think you have a habit of sneaking up on people," he commented.

"I think so too," supported Nanako. The five of them laughed to themselves.

Mitsuru was storing supplies in her pisyx when she saw the five teenagers in their moment of fun. She smiled at the sight and thought to herself, _'How... familiar.'_

She walked up to them and gave them a small greeting, "I see everyone is awake and ready?"

Nanako turned to Mitsuru and replied, "S.E.E.S junior division ready to-!"

_Gurgle!_

She paused as the rumbling from her stomach was heard. She blushed and muttered, "Uh... I didn't eat much last night and I haven't had breakfast yet."

Yukari walked up to her and handed her an apple from a basket she was holding. "No problem. You can eat these on the go if you want."

Mitsuru nodded in approval. "I don't want you running around without nutrition. And you'll have to eat as we travel, time isn't one our side."

Nanako nodded back. "Only four more days," she mentioned.

Mitsuru nodded again and called out to the rest of S.E.E.S. "As soon as the last of the tents are packed we're moving out of this forest."

Junpei staggered by with three tent bags in his hands. "Good, 'cause I ain't carrying these anymore!"

* * *

S.E.E.S once again tracked their way through the twists and turns around the thick trees. In front Ken, Nanako, Akihiko and Mitsuru were looking ahead while in the middle of the line Miwa, Yuuta, Maiko and Reiji walked along with Fuuka who continued her analysis. The rest were at the back looking at the surrounding at the chance of another ambush.

Ken felt a tap on his right shoulder and turned to Nanako.

"How's your injuries Ken-san?" she asked.

Ken gave her a small thumb up. "Whatever that Arcana Knight did he sure did a good job of it. I feel like I wasn't even attacked yesterday. Except for slight pains every now and then in by knee but I'm sure it's nothing."

Meanwhile in the middle...

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"...Are we there now?"

"No..."

"...Are we-"

Reiji quickly turned Yuuta and pointed his index finger close to his face. "If you ask 'are we there yet,' or something along those lines again, you can go help Junpei-san with carrying that soldier of Zorn's."

"I'd appreciate that!" Junpei's voice rang from behind them, "This guy ain't getting any lighter!"

Yuuta hesitantly looked back and shook his head. "Nah, I'm good."

Nanako swung her claws down on a branch in their path then suddenly stopped and squinted her eyes, scouting for something.

Mitsuru took notice of this. "Dojima?" she questioned.

Nanako's opened up again and a smile appeared on her face. "I see light! We must be close to the other side!"

Yuuta jumped ahead when he heard this. "Sweet! We can finally get outta here!"

"Yuuta! Wait!" Miwa yelled. As he ignored her protest Miwa shook her head and went after him.

Maiko and Reiji looked at each other and shrugged, figuring they were going to get drawn into it anyway. They started running for the light as well.

Nanako saw her friends running for the light and smiled at Ken. "We'll be back," she cheerfully said before sprinting alongside them.

"I don't think that's such a good-"

Ken was cut off when Fuuka laid her hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Ken," she soothed, "I don't detect any hostile Personas out there. Let them have their fun, they've had a long day yesterday."

Ken nodded. "I guess..."

Nanako and her friends pushed away bushes and branches that were in their way of the daylight shining at them. Soon enough, Nanako cleared away the last branch that veiled the outside world.

The sunlight became stronger instantly. The trees of the forest were no longer in their way as fields of grass and mountains on the horizon were once again visible. The wind was calm as the five came out of the forest. At long last their first trail was at an end.

Yuuta breathed in heavily through his nose and huffed out quickly. "Fuah!" he breathed, "It's good to see this again."

"Yeah," Reiji replied, "Makes you wonder if Earth could be like this everywhere."

Nanako gazed across the field and took in the scenery. _'I don't why but,'_ she pondered, _'This place feels like home.'_

"Hey, look at that!" Maiko claimed and pointed to their left. They all turned their heads and saw something that wasn't there when they first arrived on Gerra.

About half a kilometre away huge grey stone walls as high as a skyscraper could be seen. The walls were linked and apparently surround a large area behind the walls. The walls themselves were of a castle's as there were towers where ever a flat wall was connected to another on a different angle. Inside the walls some buildings were visible though there was only one or two that stood higher than the wall. Each one of the towers was made of stone yet there were no indents or lines to show there were bricks. On the city wall closest to them, a huge dark steel double door was there as an entrance.

"Is that the village Margaret told you about Nanako?" Miwa asked Nanako, not taking her eyes off the structure.

Nanako nodded. "It must be."

The other members of S.E.E.S walked their way out of the forest and when Yukari laid her eyes on the structure a bit away from them she gasped. "W-what is that?"

Mitsuru stepped forward. "This must be the village." She took out her pisyx and brought out the documents given to them by Zatch. She flipped through a few pages and stopped on a map. She laid her finger on a mark beside the forest zone. "This is Quelas City. And if our friend Margaret is correct, the man Fenrir is there too."

Nanako turned to her senior member and asked, "Then what are we waiting for?"

* * *

The squad drew closer to the city at walking pace. Mitsuru was consulting with Fuuka along the way. "Yamagishi, is there anything you can find out from here?"

Fuuka closed her eyes and concentrated while walking. When she opened her eyes again she said, "There's a lot of people inside Mitsuru-senpai. There are four gates in and out of the city and there are two stationed guards at every gate. We'll most likely encounter them when we attempt to enter."

Mitsuru nodded and looked ahead. "I don't think a fight will be necessary, so nobody assume hostility."

Reiji simply pulled out his bat anyway. "Not unless they're hostile."

Akihiko threw his hand in front of Reiji. "Don't be reckless, just wait."

They came closer to the gates and two figures came into view. Two men were on either side of the gate, both in metal plating that covered most of themselves but the joint areas weren't. Beneath the plating they both wore a black cloth that covered whatever the plating didn't. Their heads were hidden in their silver helmets with square eye slits and grates where their mouths should be.

As the group came within a few metres of them the guards jumped to attention.

As they sprung Mitsuru put her hands up in an attempt to calm them. "Wait, we can-"

The men didn't listen and reached behind their backs. They grabbed hold of something that were strapped to their backs, carried them with both hands and pointed at the Persona-users. "Halt! Stay where you are!"

Yuuta jumped back as he realised what they were pointing with. "WHOA! GUNS!"

The rest of S.E.E.S was taken aback by the appearance of the firearms. Aegis armed her hand rifles as the guards readied theirs.

"I thought we were on a planet with less tech then we do!" Junpei nervously muttered.

Aegis only narrowed her optics and stated, "Apparently not."

Maiko slowly stepped forward to Mitsuru and Nanako. "Those are F2000 rifles, fully automatic. And by the way they're holding them they're trained very well with them."

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow on Maiko's knowledge of the firearms but decided to put the though aside. She returned to negotiating, "We are not enemies of yours and we seek an audience with someone inside this city. We won't cause any unnecessary trouble."

One of the guards didn't take it easily. "You'll forgive us for not taking your word _Bellators_. No one with a Persona gets inside without confirmation. And don't deny it! We have a sensor just inside who just told us you were coming and he was very specific when he mentioned the number of Personas you people have."

"What did he call us?" Akihiko queried.

"Bellators," Mitsuru answered, "It's a way of addressing Persona-users on Gerra."

The other guard took a step closer to his partner and asked, "Hey, don't these guys fit the descriptions Sergeant Miller gave us? Five kids, six adults, an android and a dog, all with Personas?"

The first guard took a good long look at S.E.E.S before he readily holstered his rifle. "You're right." As he partner put away his gun he turned to gates and shouted "Sergeant Miller sir! I think we found our guests!"

The gates slowly opened a fraction and from the gap between the doors a man in armour identical to the guards came through. The only difference between his armour and the guards' was that his right shoulder plate was larger and carved in the shape of a bear's head. The newcomer walked past the guards and he stopped right in front of the group. He turned his head to the guards and said, "And so you have."

Then he threw his hands up and bellowed, "Welcome the Quelas City! Forgive my men for their 'welcome,' they were just following protocol."

The rest of S.E.E.S relaxed at the ceasefire. Nanako stepped forward and commented, "You seem to be very trusting sir. Either that, or you know who we are."

The man nodded. "You're sharp girl. We had you guys tagged the moment you breathed the air on Gerra. No village doesn't know you guys, the Bellators from Earth who haven't died yet and show promise in beating the heck out of Zorn." The man offered out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Sergeant Miller of Quelas City's defence."

Mitsuru naturally reached out and shook his hand. "I'm Mitsuru Kirijo, current field leader of S.E.E.S. My friends and I have come a long way to meet one of your people."

The sergeant chuckled and waved his hands in front of him. "Say no more, I know who you're talking about. Praetor Fenrir's been expecting you. I'll escort you to him right now if you like."

Reiji turned to Nanako and said, "Praetor? This Fenrir guy of yours sounds like an important guy Nanako."

Junpei staggered forward and hauled Hitotsu on his back. "Hey, if you don't mind, could you get someone to help me with this guy?"

Miller's eyes widened when his eyes caught the sight of the unconscious man. "Hitotsu!" he exclaimed, "Where on Gerra did you find him!"

Mitsuru answered, "We were attacked by Zorn's forces in the forest. He was one of the soldiers in the attack. Do you know him?"

The sergeant rubbed his helmet. "So it did fall to the worst case scenario," he muttered. Then he brightened up again. "But you got him back for us, I'm sure the Praetor will be grateful." He swung his arm in Hitotsu's direction and the guards took him off Junpei's hands.

Nanako was puzzled at this. "Got him back? Are you saying he's one of your men?"

Miller turned and walked back to the city. "The Praetor will explain," he said while walking, "If you want answers and help, you fellas better follow me."

Nanako and Mitsuru looked at each other and after a moment they nodded and walked with Sergeant Miller. The rest of S.E.E.S followed through the gate and it closed behind them with a soft bang.

* * *

Authors Notes: Sorry for the lateness, school life is distracting. I know I'm kinda being selfish when I put up that add for artists, but I just wanted a simple image of my fanfic. Though I should tell you guys this fic was started after seeing some fanart on . Also, Hallelujah! Persona 4 the animation is coming!

Just needed that off my chest. Now here are some fics that I like/love and I think should be read by all Persona lovers:

**Persona 4: Split Personalities **by Kisdota the freak gamer. Awesome fanfic for humour and a retelling. I've never been disappointed by his sense of humour and originality (of course, this is fanfiction, so it's debatable). I am following this story to the end!

**GeNiUs** by Krescent Wolf. This guy makes a really good sequel to Persona 4. Those of you who love action and magic and Persona, this is a must-read!

**Forgotten Memories: A P3P and P4 Story **by Deidara'sgirl19. We've been fellow reviewers for some time now and now she's made a fanfic for Shinjiro x Minako/Mshe/FemC/Hamuko lovers! This story is a sequel to her other fanfic **Only You**. Forgotten Memories is a P4/P3 crossover and a great romance story. While it may be shaky at the start, I'm proud to say that Deidara'sgirl has blossomed as a writer and I hope for her success with her fanfic.

Other stories will be mentioned in other chapters but its about 1:30 am right now. Sleepy time! But before that, here's the intro for the next chapter.

_With only four days left for the preliminary cut off, will S.E.E.S make it in time? And will Fenrir, the Praetor of Quelas city, be their ally or someone who'll get in their way? Find out in the next Chapter, 'Enter Fenrir!'_

_"Enough with corny intros man, we need a break."_

_Yuuta! You're not supposed to be here! Get back to the story!_

_"Or what? You'll kill me off? I'm one of the mains here!" _

_"I can't kill you off, but__ I can mysteriously put you in the ladies room while Miwa's in there. And you know what happens when your both in there._

_"...you wouldn't..."_

_Try me._

_"Okay! Okay! I get it! I'm going!"_


	13. Chapter 13 Fenrir

**Author's Notes: Wow, months since I last updated. I really should keep track of my pace. I might be a bit late with these chapters but I have another fanfic going and not to mention school life is catching up to me. I'm sorry for the lateness and please Read and Review!**

* * *

Bustling streets with sounds of people talking over each other and crowded alleyways with colourful flags and stalls were the first things to be seen in Quelas City. Streets were filled with stalls and shops made of stone or wood with dozens of people looking and crowding over each one. Most of the people in the streets wore robes, tunics or garbs that looked like they were designed from Middle Ages of Europe. A few people in metal plate armour similar to Sergeant Miller's could be seen wandering the streets. The buildings were all made from either stone or timber that was beautifully built like Roman streets.

Through all the bustling people S.E.E.S followed Sergeant Miller into Quelas City. Fuuka was amazed by all the people and buildings. "My goodness," she breathed out, "I knew there were a lot of people in here but to think all these people can fit inside these walls..."

Sergeant Miller looked behind him and nodded, "The city's bigger than it looks from the outside. Stick with me to the atrium or you'll get lost."

Nanako walked along side Mitsuru and Akihiko in front looking at all the passing people as their loud voices surrounded them. "I've been meaning to ask Sergeant," Nanako began, "Who is Fenrir and what does he do?"

The sergeant gladly turned his armoured head to Nanako. "I guess you can say Praetor Fenrir is the one in charge of here. Or more accurately, he's the one who protects the city. There's no other Bellator I've ever seen that could best him."

Nanako thought about this for a moment and then said, "So Fenrir is a Persona-User, is he?"

Miller chuckled. "He most certainly is. If I was to compare him with someone in Zorn's forces, I'd say he would be as one of the top Arcane... uh, Arc-something Templar..."

"Arcana Knight," Nanako corrected.

"Ah, yes," Miller continued, "He mastered his Persona when he only had it for three months. The guy's a prodigy. Even though Zorn took ownership of Gerra ten years ago he still hasn't laid a finger on Quelas City thanks to the Praetor."

"Three months?" Mitsuru queried with her curiosity apparent with a hint of shock.

Akihiko rubbed the back of his head mumbled, "We've had ours for so long and this guy manages to master his in three months?"

Miller shrugged. "I don't get most of the mumbo-jumbo this Persona stuff is involved with but what I do know is that some people master their own ego easier than others. Praetor Fenrir's probably one of them."

"So you don't have a Persona sergeant?" Nanako asked.

The sergeant briefly touched the rifle strapped on his back absent minded. "I'm just a soldier. But just because you don't have a Persona doesn't mean that you can't beat someone who does. Having a Persona sure helps, but on a rare occasion you'll find people out there without a Persona who can still kick some Shadows to the curve."

"Like you?" Nanako asked innocently.

The question lowered the sergeant's head a bit. "Um... I said on a rare occasion... so no. That's why we're stationed in groups and squads around the city. Soldiers like me can only be a good defence in numbers."

"At least you're honest," Akihiko commented.

"Ahem! I think we should hurry along," Miller hastily coughed.

"Right," Nanako responded before she turned to the back and called out, "Guys, you better keep up!"

Miwa looked up and turned when she heard Nanako call out in front of a market stand filled with colourful fabrics. "Huh?"

After passing through the bustling market streets the walkway became wider and eventually lead to what it seemed to the town centre. It was formed like a circular plaza made of clay coloured stone bricks and a fountain of clear water in the centre. Buildings of stone varying in size surrounded plaza and there were a few more market stands at the edges. Other pathways lead into of the plaza and people casually walked in and out, some carrying sacks or goods, some dragging carts and some more guards in armour were present around the circle that were stationary and paying more attention than the guards touring the streets. The tallest and biggest of the buildings towered as tall as one of Earth's skyscrapers and the exterior resembled much of a cathedral with all the triangular roofs and coloured glass windows.

"My goodness..." Fuuka breathed out at the sight of the cathedral, "It's like the Notre Dame..."

"Heh heh," Sergeant Miller chuckled, "We take pride in our architecture. Though we can't compete with Vistry or Illuminat in terms of modern building, we can do a pretty good job with more regal structures."

They headed over to the tall doors of the building resembling a cathedral and entered. As Nanako went in she expected the interior of the building to be like any cathedral, but instead to saw something more simular to an interior of a library. The room was large with colour filtered light coming from the windows as shelves of books were standing by the walls. The centre of the room had a few long wooden tables with elegant armchairs and a large staircase starting from the direct centre and branching out to both sides to a higher level.

"Woah," Reiji muttered, "Can't criticize the taste."

Sergeant Miller turned to the group of Persona Users as they walked in. "Welcome to the Quelas Atrium," He proudly greeted with his hands up, "In this place we make most of the city's most important decisions at these tables. And at the head of the tables is Praetor Fenrir, protector and governor of Quelas City."

"In other words, this is the Praetor's office building," a monotone, female rang out from above.

S.E.E.S turned their attention to the top of the left side of the staircase. Walking down the stairs was a young woman with long raven black hair. In a sky blue dress that went down to her ankles she gracefully walked down while holding a thick hardcover book in her right to her chest while pushing her oval glasses up the bridge of her nose with her left hand. Her face was beautiful to say the least but her stern frown gave a 'no nonsense' aura.

"Ah! Alexine!" the sergeant called out as she came down to the ground floor. He turned to S.E.E.S and gestured his hand to the woman who was apparently Alexine. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce Ms. Alexine. She's the Atrium's caretaker, Quelas City's financial organiser and Praetor Fenrir's daughter."

"Don't forget to add father's secretary," the black haired woman added as she stood by Sergeant Miller. She looked at the group of people in front of her. "I presume these are the Bellators father spoke about?"

Mitsuru stepped forward and politely offered a handshake. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, current leader of S.E.E.S. I appreciate your city's hospitality."

Alexine politely returned the handshake. "Thank you Ms. Kirijo, but if you're looking for my father then I regret to inform you that he isn't in this building at the moment."

Miller brought his hand to his helmet in surprise. "What?" he queried, "I only just gave him a message a few minutes ago!"

Alexine sighed. "He said he wanted to go out to meet with you in the city plaza. If he did not, there's only one other place I can think he would be."

The soldier hung his head down. "The pub," he dully said.

"I'm afraid so," the woman confirmed.

"Well that's just great," Junpei said, "This guy's supposed to help us and he's getting himself a drink at a bar? Are you guys sure this is the right guy that can help us?"

Alexine ignored Junpei and coldly walked past him to the front door. "If you like I can take you to him. I suppose father needs another lecture on his responsibilities. Sergeant, you can return to your post until further notice."

Sergeant Miller gave her a salute. "Yes ma'am," he replied before heading to the door. Then he stopped, turned to Alexine and said, "Oh, I forgot to mention this. S.E.E.S was able to bring back Hitotsu for us. He's currently in the infirmary awaiting indoctrination reversal."

The young woman's eyes blinked at the news. Then she replied calmly, "I see. We always knew that it could've come to indoctrination. It is fortunate to have him back." She gave a firm nod and Sergeant Miller nodded in return before heading back to the gate.

Maiko took a step forward and said, "The sergeant mentioned that Hitotsu was one of your people. I'm a little confused of how he ended up as Zorn's soldier."

Alexine looked at Maiko for a brief moment before heading out the door. "I will explain on the way. If you would please follow me I will take you to father."

Nanako and the rest of S.E.E.S all looked at each other before Nanako nodded and they all followed.

Once again entering the bright sunlight that shined onto the plaza the group made left into another alleyway. Nanako caught up quickly to Alexine and walked beside her. "Okay, we're following, now can we have that explanation?'

Alexine pushed up her glasses again as she continued walking, her pace uninterrupted. "Hitotsu is our finest blacksmith and weapons designer. He was born in this very city and defended it from the very start of Zorn's domination. For both father and I, he is our most loyal companion."

"Loyal?" Yuuta said, disagreement and sarcasm apparent in his voice, "That guy freakin' almost beat me and my stupid tutor to a pulp! In that asshole Zorn's name as well."

"Who are you calling a stupid tutor!" Junpei yelled from behind him.

Alexine ignored Junpei and went on. "I'm afraid you'll have to forgive poor Hitotsu. He was probably... not himself when he attacked."

Mitsuru joined in, "What do you mean?"

"Most of Zorn's subordinates serve him of their own free will," Alexine explained, "Though they are some people with certain skills he covets very much but they would not bow to him. In these cases he would first try to persuade his target to him with riches or power and dominion. If that doesn't work, he has them captured and he releases them after a period of time. But after they're released they become... different."

Nanako didn't like the sound of that. She cautiously asked, "In what way, different?"

"... They seem to have become willingly to serve Zorn, but people who knew them best would immediately know something is wrong. These people who are kidnapped were indoctrinated."

Yuuta looked puzzled. "Uh... I forgot to bring my dictionary here, so can someone explain what that means?"

Miwa bluntly looked at Yuuta. "She means they were brainwashed. You really need to pay attention to Ken-sensei's next class."

"The indoctrinated individuals lose most of their original personality traits," Alexine continued on, "It hasn't been revealed on how Zorn proceeds with the indoctrination process, but I have made a few connections of what level of indoctrination he can inflict."

"Level?" Reiji queried.

"There are certain differences between indoctrinated individuals depending on how intense the process needs to when it used was on them. People with small mental defences and not enough experience with highly stressful scenarios tend to need a low level of indoctrination. These people keep most of their personality. Others with a good amount of mental strength and training require more pressure during indoctrination. These people take more time to change and by the time they are finished, their personalities would be emptier than before. Some have been known to barely make sentences afterwards."

Yuuta and Junpei looked at each other. "Well that explains why he was talking so weird," Junpei commented.

Yuuta turned back to Alexine. "Okay, so the rampaging guy in rusty iron is your friend. But is he really that good a... weapons maker? Like, your best?"

Alexine pushed her glasses and for the first time S.E.E.S had known her, she smiled. A little bit. "Hitotsu's not a good blacksmith in Quelas, he's the world's best blacksmith. I have never seen anyone else who can endure the fires of the sun while trying to craft a steel cutting sword."

"Fires of the sun?" Miwa nervously repeated.

"Steel cutting sword?" Yuuta repeated, with a new light in his eyes.

Not wanting to break the peace, Nanako kept the conversation going. "So, is Hitotsu going to be okay? Yuuta and Junpei managed to take a lot out of him." At the back of the group Yuuta and Junpei gave each other a hi-five.

"I'm Hitotsu sure will recover from both his indoctrination and his wounds," Alexine replied, "We have top grade medical facilities in Quelas and our best minds in science can rectify the indoctrination as long as it isn't too severe. And since you told me he was capable of some speech I'm certain he'll make a swift recovery."

"That's a relief," Nanako sighed.

As the alley narrowed the further they went in, Mitsuru spoke "I appreciate the information you've given Alexine, but I would like to meet your father as soon as possible. When will we-?"

SMASH!

A few metres ahead of them one of the building's windows on the ground floor burst into shards. At the same time a chair had flown out of the smashed window and clattered into the street. From inside the building cheers and yells of men could be heard.

Alexine sighed and tilted her head forward a bit. "We're here," she said dejectedly.

The group looked to the building on the right and looked through the former window. Inside they could men in noble and common clothes parading in drunken stupor. Each of the men had a least one mug of what seemed to be beer frothing at the top. In the centre of the apparent pub was a man with wavy blonde hair lifting and waving a mug in his hand that was filled to the brim. His back was facing the Persona Users so they could not see his face but they could see the man was fairly tall as even his hair that was a long as a horse's tail only reached the end of his back. He wore a black jacket with a hood that had thick grey fur on the rims and dark blue jeans tied with a leather brown belt.

The blonde man seemed to be at the centre of attention in the tavern as he danced around and the other people were cheering him on with the loudest of voices.

"Who's up for another round!" the blonde man shouted in what Nanako guessed to be an American accent. S.E.E.S silently stood and watched as the drunken chaos ensued inside the building. However, Alexine swiftly enter through the door, which was off its hinges, reached out and grabbed the man's ear tightly.

"Ow! Ow!" the man cried as his head was lead by Alexine's hand.

"Father," the stoic woman sternly said, "You said you were going to greet our guests. May I ask why you're drinking the pub's supply dry again?"

"C'mon!" the man whined, "I wasn't even halfway through the whole thing!" That earned him an even tighter pull. "Ow!"

Alexine rolled her eyes at looked at the humble man behind the counter. "How much more did he put on his tab, Gerald?" she asked politely while still holding the ear of who appeared to be her father.

The bartender gave a small chuckle before saying in an amused tone, "Only about thirty mugs of beer, more or less."

Alexine dejectedly looked at her father. "Well I guess I should be glad you're still sober so you can talk to our guests."

One thought ran through all the S.E.E.S members' minds. _'What do you mean 'still sober' after more than thirty mugs of beer?'_

"Let go of my ear Alexine," her father whined, "I'll introduce myself."

With a flick Alexine released the man's poor ear and he finally turned around to face them. His face was revealed to be handsome with a long face. Hardly any facial hair could be seen, giving him the look of someone in his early twenties. His hair at the brow ended like a bowl cut but at each side the hair extended down in two long untied locks going down to his face. His black jacket was open revealing a grey t-shirt and a silver pendant shaped like a shark's tooth hanging around his neck from black string. When his grey eyes gazed upon the team he brought his hand up to his chin as if in thought and walked towards them, or more accurately out of the tavern through the broken window.

After a long silent stare exchange by both parties, the man looking intrigue and S.E.E.S just waiting in anticipation, the man finally said, "My first impression of you people... you guys look a lot more ordinary than I imagined."

Reiji blinked and plainly asked, "And you are...?"

The blonde man opened out his arms as he leaned a little back with a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Fenrir, guardian and Praetor of Quelas City, and I'll be your host for this evening."

* * *

**Later**

The group plus Fenrir and Alexine had returned to the chapel, which looked more like an office upstairs. In a vast room with oak wood floors and a large stain glass window on the far wall, Fenrir sat in a tall leather chair in front of the window and behind a wooden office desk with the typical office equipment, including an olden day telephone. Though the room looked grand from its oak wood and fancy furniture Fenrir was lazily laid back in his chair with his hands behind his head and in a slouch. Alexine was standing next to him as the members of S.E.E.S were gathered in front of the table. Some were a bit on edge about the man who was sitting in front of them.

Like Yuuta. "Pst," he whispered to Reiji beside him, "This guy is supposed to be some kind of prodigy and super strong Persona User, right?"

Reiji whispered back, "Yeah, so what?"

"I just think he looks a little too wild to be this 'ultimate protector' of the city and he's too skinny and tall to look scary or powerful," Yuuta replied.

"Like you?"

"Yeah, like- Hey!"

"So," Fenrir's voice caught everyone's attention, "If I'm not mistaken, you guys are gonna be fighting in the Tourney, correct?"

Mitsuru stepped forward and took the lead. "Yes. To be honest I would prefer avoiding using our powers again for fighting, but Zorn's decree of war against our home galaxy certainly doesn't give us the option. And as I understand, he is no ally of yours either."

Fenrir leaned forward, put his elbows on his desk and breathed out heavily. "You can say that again. Ten years ago Gerra was pretty much alright on its own and doing its own thing. Then Zorn comes in making offers to Persona Users on Gerra and suddenly there's a coup d'état followed by a takeover. Now Zorn's doing it again on a bigger scale, which I have to say he's risking quite a lot for some property. Quelas City is one of the few areas where people can call themselves independent from Zorn without getting shot and he's been trying to beat us down for the last few years. Of course, with the Tourney going on his attacks are pretty much gone from three times a month to pretty much zilch. This is probably what you guys would call calm before the storm."

Mitsuru went over to the table, leaned forward and looked Fenrir in the eye while sternly placing her hands on the desk. "Then you can agree that if Zorn is beaten you can take back Gerra, correct?"

"We can free Gerra," Fenrir replied with a cautious tone, "Gerra doesn't belong to anybody. It's supposed to be a haven, if you can ignore all the battles with Shadows coming from the underground."

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow. "Underground?"

Fenrir shrugged and plainly said, "That's something for another time. But first I'll make this clear, you guys don't stand much of a chance against Zorn at the moment as long as five of you are inexperienced. To improve your chances, the five kids here will need to be trained and I can train you guys."

Nanako eyebrows were raised at Fenrir's statement. "You can train us to fight Zorn? Enough to fight against even Arcana Knights?"

Fenrir nodded with a smile. "Positive," he replied.

Yuuta beamed and exclaimed, "Great! So you'll help us?"

Fenrir suddenly frowned and replied in a low tone, "Negative."

"What?" Yuuta asked as he slumped.

Maiko stepped forward and in a demanding tone asked, "Why not?"

"As much as I want to see you five newbies fair in my training regimen," Fenrir continued as he sat up with a bit of a grimace on his face, "There's a complication."

This raised Mitsuru's eyebrow. "A complication?" she asked.

Fenrir shrugged and lifted his hands. "Before I tell you why, I'm just going to warn you that you shouldn't take it the wrong way. You see, the reason why we haven't been attacked these past few months is because... there's a truce between Zorn and the cities that resist him."

The members of S.E.E.S looked at each other for the news had implanted some doubt into them. Aegis's eye caught sight of Reiji reaching for his Pisyx and she reached out to him shouting, "Reiji-kun, don't-!"

The green haired Persona User had taken out his metal bat, charged past Nanako and Mitsuru who were in his way and ran towards Fenrir with full intention of not getting into another trap set by Zorn. With both hands he swung his metal bat down.

BAP!

Reiji blinked. His arms were down but the bat had not made contact with his intended target.

It did hit Fenrir, but now Fenrir was out of his chair and _in front_ of the desk, standing beside Reiji. The top end of Reiji's bat was resting in Fenrir's hand, inches away from the top of the desk.

"Hey kid," Fenrir said casually, "This is a one-of-a-kind desk and the craftsman who designed it is dead. So I would appreciate it if you don't break it."

'_I...'_ Reiji thought as he slowly turned his head in Fenrir's direction, _'I didn't even see him move from that chair...'_

"Reiji!"

Akihiko's voice snapped Reiji back to reality. Reiji turned to his tutor and Akihiko was sternly staring at him. "Back down, Reiji," Akihiko calmly ordered, "There isn't a need to fight."

Reiji reluctantly pulled the bat away and returned it into its Pisyx form.

The tall blonde man breathed out a sigh. "I told you not to take it the wrong way. It's not like we're working for Zorn. After all, we wouldn't be called the resistance if we bowed to him for a truce." Fenrir made his way back to his leather chair rested his cheek on his hand and continued, "But I'm the Praetor of a city. That means I put the people of the city first before an uprising. Zorn and the other cities... agreed... that as long as Zorn is held up with the Tourney, we would be left alone until it's over. In other words, no more attacks. An opportunity like that could help the cities rebuild from the losses of every attack and give the civilians some peace of mind. Then there's the complication. In return for the ceasefire, we're not allowed to assist you guys or any other saps that're in this Tourney against Zorn. That was the deal."

Nanako looked down and sighed. "I guess it would too much to ask to put us before the people you're protecting."

"As much as it pains me, yes," Fenrir answered, "I've lived in this city my entire life. I really wouldn't live anywhere else. And the people... are family to me. I became the Praetor for them. If it weren't for all the battles everyone's lives would be so much better and I could settle down and finally just raise my sweet potato patch without a care in the world. But so many lives have been lost just to defend the city that the temporary peace is the least I can give to my people. So no, I can't break the truce, there's too much at stake for us here."

Just as everyone seemed to begin looking disappointed Fenrir broke out in a smile. "But I didn't say I couldn't help you guys if Quelas City wasn't getting paid for it."

Yukari asked in a confused voice, "You mean we have to pay you so you can help us?"

"Precisely," Fenrir answered with satisfaction, "There's a small loophole in this truce, you see. We aren't allowed to help you freely, but..." Fenrir gestured to Alexine and the young woman brought out a blank sheet of paper and a feather quill, "If we are bound to an agreement, a contract, stating our deal then it will be business. It wouldn't be breaching the truce and Zorn can't say anything about it."

Miwa nodded in agreement. "It sounds good. Any existing contracts that don't breach the agreement can't be touch by it."

Yuuta fist pumped and cried, "Woo! Let's get the show on the road! Come on, sign the contract already!"

"Not so fast," Fenrir said while waving his hands at Yuuta to calm him down, "First, we need to settle the price of the training and how'll it be done."

Yuuta brought his hand to his chin and as if a light bulb above his head lit up he grabbed one of his Pisyxes and in a flash some sort of action figure was in his hand. "How about a first edition Underwater suit Featherman R action figure! Bet you can't find any of these on Gerra!"

Everyone in the room sweat-dropped and Yuuta felt the awkward mood. "What?" he asked innocently.

Mitsuru sighed and gently pulled Yuuta back by the shoulder. "We might not have the currency required Fenrir-san. We are from another world after all. I'm afraid we might not have anything of value either."

'_Anything of value...'_ Nanako thoughts repeated Mitsuru's words and then something in her head clicked. She reached down into her pocket and took out the gate amulet she gained from Zatch's Pisyx. Nanako held it up to Fenrir and asked bravely, "What about this?"

When Fenrir's eyes found the amulet they widened by just a fraction. In a surprised tone he asked, "That's quite a valuable artefact you have, miss. Where did you find that?"

Nanako paused and thought of Zatch and the penalty he'll have to pay if Zorn ever found out that he gave her the amulet. Then she finally said, "A friend gave to me."

Fenrir and Alexine looked at each other in question. After shrugging Fenrir replied, "That should be alright. Alexine, write down contact please." Alexine nodded in response and started writing down on the paper with the quill.

Fuuka looked back and forth between the amulet and Nanako before nervously asking, "Fenrir-san, what is that artefact? We haven't been able to use it as we don't know what it does."

Fenrir sat up and waved his hand inwards, gesturing Nanako to hand the amulet over to him. Nanako passed the amulet into his hand and Fenrir brought it up for all to see. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is a Gatekeeper, one of the rarest artefacts crafted by the Eternates in the... well, universe. Can you guess how much someone would pay to get their hands on something like this?"

"A lot?" Junpei childishly guessed, earning an eye roll from Yukari.

Alexine pushed her glasses up, continued writing and answered, "The Gatekeeper's current bid in the market is equivalent to five hundred trillion Australian dollars on Earth, excluding expenses on obtaining the artefact."

Miwa's eyes bulged out at the high price. "F-f-f-five hundred trillion!"

Akihiko was also baffled by the price and questioned, "Why is it worth so much? Isn't it just another artefact?"

"Artefact value is determined by rarity and function, Mr. Sanada."

The silver haired police officer blinked. "How did you-?"

"Know your name?" Alexine finished for him. "Thanks to channels and informants that work on Earth it was easy to find out who you are just by your appearance Mr. Sanada. How else do you think these walls and buildings look so similar to your own home planet?"

This time it was Maiko's turn to ask a question, "How is it that a civilisation that was given mystical artefacts because of its lack of technology have modern Belgian F2000 rifles?"

Fenrir couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Didn't Alexine say we have sources on Earth? Gerra is a haven that continuously tries to better itself by watching the development of other planets with life. Earth is no exception. I don't know much of Gerra's history to be honest, but I do know that one of the wise guys decided to use an observing artefact to watch and learn from other planets. Lots of stuff on Gerra is similar to Earth because I personally think Earth is the planet with most taste. We know how to make everything from automatic rifles to toasters."

"That's kinda creepy," Yuuta mumbled, "How you guys have been watching us and stealing our ideas."

Fenrir merely shrugged. "Maybe, but we learn from your mistakes and try not to make them here. Of course some freak accident happens on Gerra every once in a while but at least we know to be extra careful when getting environmentally hazardous liquids in the middle of the ocean." He said the last part with a grin.

"Now that's just mean..." Yuuta mumbled again.

The blonde threw the artefact in the air and caught it while gazing upon it. "I'm amazed that this managed to fall into your hands. The only Gatekeeper known to be found is Zorn's."

Alexine put down the feather quill and stated, "Finished, father."

"Thank you," Fenrir said to his daughter and pushed the paper to Mitsuru. "Read carefully."

Mitsuru took the brand new contract and read out, "By signing this, my fellow members and I agree to handover the Gatekeeper artefact to Fenrir Lupus in exchange for training the five newest members. The training will go over three days and the training will go however Fenrir Lupus decides. If this promise cannot be kept by the profiteer, Fenrir, then he must give an immediate full refund and a gift of his choice free of charge." The red haired woman looked up from the contract and gave Fenrir a mutual stare. "Three days? Are you sure you can accomplish that?"

"Whether you believe in me to train your junior members or not isn't up to me," Fenrir answered, "Do you want me to train them or not?"

Ken, who was quiet at the back of the group, finally emerged to the front with a stern look on his face. "This training... what exactly will they learn from it?"

Fenrir flexed his fingers out. "I'll make them stronger in both mind and body, that's for sure. They'll get more control and skill with their Personas. And, as your green haired newbie demonstrated, they'll need sufficient training with their weapons. Not to mention the new ones they'll get."

Ken unconsciously leaned forward. "What new weapons?" he asked in a low tone.

"... I'll be teaching them how to wield firearms. I think they'll need it."

This made Ken clench his fingers on the desk and scowl. "No, absolutely not."

By his side Nanako was surprised at Ken's response. "Ken-san..."

Her teacher turned to her and said, "I'm your teacher and I'm saying no. Getting you guys to pick up weapons and going into battle is one thing, but guns are far too dangerous."

"I'm not changing my mind Mr. Amada," Fenrir bluntly said, "And you're naive to think that there won't be other people who wouldn't hesitate to point guns at them. These five have to be ready for anything and that means giving them all the skills possible. Knowing how to aim and fire a gun is no exception."

"They have Personas," Ken argued, almost like a growl.

"Which may not be enough," Fenrir countered, "There are many soldiers who carry firearms for the very possibility that they'll fight Bellators. And though the Persona is our first and main weapon, don't forget that'll one day they won't have the strength or possibility to use theirs. A second weapon could surely help them. And remember, a Persona does not make us invincible. Maybe hard to kill, but not invincible."

"But-!" Ken was going to argue again but stopped as Nanako reached out to him.

"Ken-san," Nanako began as she looked into his eyes with confidence, "It's okay. We'll do it."

Reiji followed her up. "Remember what happened back at the forest? Against that Arcana Knight? We... couldn't do much really. You wore him down and we managed to deal with him but in the end he was still too strong for us. We would've died if that old man didn't come in. If we had... something else at that time we could've made a difference."

"We'll handle the training Ken-sensei," Miwa said, "We don't want to feel what we felt in the forest ever again. That feeling of helplessness."

Ken looked across the three of his students as Fenrir smirked. "Looks like you're out voted," the blonde man muttered, "Are you gonna listen to them? It's a teacher's responsibility to teach to and learn from his students for the better."

Ken paused and looked down before finally breathing out, "Fine. But they better not get hurt by a single gun from this training."

"... I can't guarantee anything-!"

Alexine tugged on her father's ear.

"Ow! Okay! Okay! I promise!"

"I can't believe we're going to learn how to use guns..." Yuuta muttered.

Maiko shrugged with a smile. "It'll be easy. Besides, it's been a while since I got some target practice with a rifle."

"Yeah... wait, what?"

"Ms. Kirijo," Fenrir began again, "If you wish for these five to increase their chances on living through this, sign here."

"I'll ignore the crude reasoning," Mitsuru said as she carefully looked down on the paper and quill. She looked to Nanako, leader to leader, and Nanako merely nodded with a confidant gleam in her eye. Mitsuru gave a small smile and finally picked up the quill and wrote her signature down on the line.

"Very nice," Fenrir commented as he pulled the signed contract back to him. "I've got some calls to make before we start training, so why don't you guys go into the markets and go shopping while I finish up? I'll be done within two hours, I think."

Miwa had beamed for a moment when the 'shopping' was heard but then she sighed as she remembered something. "But we don't have any money..."

Fenrir smirked. "Should I mention I owe a favour to a tall blonde woman dressed in velvet blue and works for a long-nose, wide-eyed master?"

"You know Margaret?" Nanako asked.

"Of course!" The blonde man chuckled, "She and her siblings are regular customers here. They come every month or so to buy furniture and clothes for their workplace. Though I always wondered why they always went for the velvet blue stuff..."

Reiji raised an eyebrow. "Why would they come here to buy furniture? Can't they get it anywhere else?"

Fenrir's smirk somehow grew smugger. "Well, wasabi head," he began but not before pausing to see Reiji twitch at his new nickname, "Do you know what Quelas City is famous for?"

"A drunken blonde protector?"

"No..." Fenrir replied with a bit of a wince, "You saw all the markets and stalls out there right? That's what Quelas City lives for. We're the economic juggernaut of Gerra, the world's largest market for about anything. Clothes, foods, weapons, artefacts, even information. You want something of value? Chances are that's we had it, we've spun it up and made it into something more valuable to put on the shelf. We've hardly had economic problems cause the markets here a way too good to stop people from coming here."

"That still doesn't explain how we are supposed to buy stuff without money," Junpei mention negatively.

Fenrir leaned back on his chair and stretched before answering, "Well... some time ago Margaret ordered a very nice sofa and a canvas. She said it was for her colleagues. But there was a mix up in the times and we didn't bring it to her in time, thus breaching the contract. Though a few days later we did manage to send the items to her, we still had broken our promise. So to make up for it I told Margaret that I owed her a single favour as an apology for the breach." Fenrir bent down and reached under his desk. He pulled up a large black briefcase and opened it up to show S.E.E.S the contents. "She called in that favour yesterday, saying that you'll need money. Well, here it is."

The contents of the briefcase were square golden chips the size of regular erasers. They were neatly packed side by side and row by row, glistening from their golden colour. Fenrir grinned at the gaping expressions of the S.E.E.S members. "I wouldn't be able to use this money for the payment for your training since this on a favour, not an actual price. But this should help you guys resupply and get new weapons. You can use them in any town since all of Gerra uses the same currency."

"O.M.G," Miwa said with her mouth open like a fish for a few seconds.

"Five million credits," Alexine stated, "You may wish to take it in cash or..." She help out a few PDAs of some sorts and handed them to Mitsuru, "You can take them electronically with these PTMs. These are more convenient than carrying five thousand gold chips."

"You guys have EFTPOS?" Yuuta asked, trying to take his eyes off the case of gold chips.

"Were you not listening when we said we incorporated many of Earth's ideas to our own?" Alexine rhetorically asked with a strain of annoyance, "These PTMs, Portable Telling Machines, are the equivalent of your credit cards on Earth with the exception that the PTM itself is your own bank account."

"How much is one credit one Earth?" Fuuka asked.

Alexine once again pushed her glasses up and said, "Approximately fifty American dollars."

Yuuta bounced on the spot and waved his hand up and called out, "If we're getting guns, dibs on the sniper rifle!"

"Like teacher, like student..." Yukari mumbled.

"I wasn't that bad, was I?" Junpei asked her. She didn't answer.

Enjoying the commotion, Fenrir clapped his hands for attention. "Listen, I need to get some things done, so I'll get Alexine to open Hitotsu's storeroom-"

"No need for that, your worship."

Everyone turned to see the door open behind them. Walking into the room was a six foot tall man with absolute muscular features and a head void of hair as he didn't have any eyebrows either. A bronze chest plate was all he wore at the top and pants were just simple trousers made of black leather. His arm was also in a cast that slung over his shoulder. Everyone looked at him wide eyed as Yuuta and Junpei pointed at him and shouted, "YOU!"

Hitotsu rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. Yuuta then noticed that his mouth straps and cover were gone.

Not that it made him any more comfortable. "Why are you here?" he yelled accusingly.

"Hitotsu!" Fenrir happily called out as he walked across the room and friendly placed his hand on Hitotsu's shoulder. "I didn't think you'd be up so soon!"

The welcome of the Praetor had given Hitotsu a guilty frown. "Forgive me, Lord Fenrir. I should've been stronger to withstand indoctrination. And I was careless when I went out to find more Oricha-"

"Hahaha!" Hitotsu was interrupted by Fenrir's laugh. "That's in the past my friend," Fenrir cheerfully said, "I'm just glad to see you back."

"I'm not!" Yuuta shouted while still pointing his finger at Hitotsu, "I was almost killed by this guy! If I don't get to swing my sword at him or get Zephyrus to run him over give me a good reason why!"

Hitotsu crossed his arms and looked at Yuuta. "Because I'll be the one giving you your weapons, kid. Free of charge."

Yuuta dropped his finger while putting on a puzzled look. "Say what?"

Hitotsu bowed down deeply without going back up. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused while I was... 'unsure' of myself. I don't remember much of what I did under Zorn's indoctrination, but I remember you defeating me and bringing me here. That was a silent wish I was never able to speak out and for that I thank you with a free set of weapons from my own stock."

Junpei uneasily walked to him. Giving the bowing Hitotsu an odd look he turned to Fenrir. "Are you sure he can be trusted? He wasn't with you guys for long."

Fenrir opened his mouth to speak but his daughter got there first. "Hitotsu can very well be trusted," she said much to the annoyed look on her father's face, "The time to reverse indoctrination varies on the level of indoctrination. A simple level one indoctrination would only take half an hour to reverse more or less. The time could also vary depending on the person."

Reiji placed a hand on Yuuta's shoulder and told him, "Give him a chance, will ya? We're getting guns for free after all. Not something we can complain about."

Yuuta looked back and forth between Hitotsu and Reiji slowly, still wary of the man who only tried to kill him yesterday. Then he gave out a sigh, "Alright. I better not regret this..."

"You're going to make plenty of mistakes to regret in the future, what's one more gonna do?" Reiji cheekily joked.

"Very funny."

"I'd liked to catch up with a drink Hitotsu," Fenrir began to cheerfully talk to his friend but then his daughter started sending ice glares at him, "But we'll have to take care of some business first. I'll see you at the pub tonight." Another glare from Alexine sent a small chill down his spine. "Better make that tomorrow night..." he nervously corrected.

"I'll look forward to it," Hitotsu replied, unaware of his friend's dilemma.

He turned to the watching group of Persona Users and brought his hand up in gesture to follow him. The members of S.E.E.S walked out of the office with him and proceeded down the stairs of the cathedral. Alexine turned to her father and bluntly stated, "I do not want to see you anywhere near the pub or any other alcoholic drinks for today. Understood?"

Fenrir merely crossed his arms and mumbled, "I thought I was the parent here..."

"Pardon?"

The blonde man sighed, "Understood."

With a satisfied nod Alexine exited out of the room.

Fenrir got back in his chair and ruffled his hair. "What to do now?" he asked himself.

Suddenly the telephone on the desk gave out a vibrating ring. Fenrir answered it and talked into it. "Praetor Fenrir of Quelas City, how can I help you?" he asked in a bored tone. As the voice on the other side of the phone talked his expression lit up. "Ah! There you are, sir! Yes... yes, your new line of suits should be ready within the week. You can pick it up by Wednesday... I got them exactly as you always want them, dark purple silk with the yellow tie. I have to ask, why the blue dress?... I see... alright. I never let a regular down Mr. Cyphre. Thanks for your purchase." He put the phone down.

* * *

Hitotsu lead S.E.E.S into a vast room that seemed to be a forge. An anvil and furnace were at the back as in the middle were tables laid with tools and hammers. At the sides of the room racks and shelves held what seemed to be weapons of all kinds. Swords, knight armour, knives, rifles, spears, handguns were hung and stored all around the room. Red light from the furnace lit up the room dimly.

Miwa looked around the room nervously stepped away from the three pronged spear leaning on the side of a metal shelf. "Yikes..." she said as she eyes the tip.

"This place is kinda- Oof!" Yuuta began to say but then Maiko rushed past him, knocked him over and went over to all the shelves in haste.

"Oh my goodness!" she squealed, her eyes gleaming over the guns and weapons in front of her. "That's a TAR-21 assault rifle with magazine extensions and holographic sight! And an Intervention sniper rifle! And I think it's got a thermal sight! And- That's a M4A1! With extended magazines and a red dot sight!"

Yuuta got up while the junior division of S.E.E.S looked at Maiko surprised and bewildered by her behaviour. The girl looked like she hadn't had a care in the world except for the weapons. "I haven't seen a girl on a shopping spree with that much bounce," Yuuta mumbled.

"I guess Maiko had a shopping fetish somewhere," Nanako enthusiastically commented, "Maiko may be as tough as a boy but she's still a girl at heart."

Yuuta wasn't exactly thrilled. "What kind of girl shops for guns and knives?"

Before Maiko could look at anymore of the weapons Hitotsu grabbed her shoulder. "Okay, slow down miss," he told with a chuckle, "I appreciate the enthusiasm for my work but I need you to relax so you guys can get one, alright?"

Maiko breathed in and out calmly, though the gleam in her eyes and smile didn't waver.

Hitotsu curled his hand at the junior division of S.E.E.S to come to him. The five teenagers walked over to the front of the table as Hitotsu leaned on the table. "As a token of my appreciation, I'll give you guys some guns for your training. But you'll only get five and they'll be of my choice."

"What?" Yuuta cried annoyed, "Only five? Wasn't getting you back to the side of the good guys worth much?"

"I have to make living, kid," Hitotsu retorted, "Not that I don't appreciate what you did for me, don't forget you also beat the crap out of me in the process. I'm still feeling some shrapnel and grains of rock in my back. Not to mention these weapons are expensive, so since you're getting some for free I don't think you should be complaining. Any other weapons you want will have to be from your own pocket."

With a swipe of his arm across the table Hitotsu pushed the tools and hammers off onto the floor with clangs and bangs. Then he went around the room and picked up weapons from the racks and shelves. When he returned to the table he spread the firearms across it and stepped back to reveal them. "Take your pick, because the one you'll get will be the one you're training with."

The Nanako and her friends looked over the table's contents. Laid out on the table was an assault rifle with a ringed barrel, a sniper rifle with a square tip at the end of the barrel, a shotgun with a crooked armrest and pump, a small submachine gun and finally a pistol and grenade set. Nanako looked a little uneasily at the weapons but then kept her cool and turned to Maiko. "Maiko, you're an expert in firearms, can you tell me what these are? Maybe tell me which one I should take." she asked.

Maiko nodded cheerfully, picked up the assault rifle and held it ready. "This is a M4A1 assault rifle, an automatic with good mid to long range firepower. Easy to hold and has little recoil, I think this one's good for you Nanako." She handed Nanako the rifle and her friend took it nervously. "Oh, don't worry Nanako, there isn't a magazine." Nanako gave Maiko a puzzled look and Maiko continued explaining, "That means it doesn't have any ammunition." Nanako then looked a little more confident holding it.

Maiko went on by taking up the shotgun, "A SPAS-12 shotgun, pump action and has better range than most other shotguns. But it's still best at close range demolishing. Reiji, you should be good with this." The passed to the green haired teenager and he took it with great care.

She then took up the submachine gun. "The UMP45 is a rapid fire weapon and though it may not have as much control as a M4A1 rifle, it makes up for it at close to mid range combat. Miwa, you're pretty good at long range with Hippolyta's ice spells but you might want this in case someone attacks you from up close." Miwa was nervous like a wreck as she took the UMP45 from Maiko. Her hands were still shaking.

Yuuta stepped forward and took the sniper rifle. "I guess that leaves me with this-!"

BANG!

The sniper rifle fired a round as Yuuta had accidently pulled the trigger in excitement. The bullet went past Hitotsu as he jumped to the side and smashed a sword in the corner. Hitotsu held and waved his fist at Yuuta. "You're paying for that one!"

Maiko quickly took back the sniper rifle from Yuuta and took out the magazine. "This," she slowly began as Yuuta backed away from the weapon, "Is a Barrett .50cal sniper rifle. A long range weapon and semi-automatic with good firepower with every bullet. And _I'll_ be using this."

Yuuta then looked to the pistol and grenade on the table. He picked them up and dully said, "I guess that leaves with this..."

"A grenade will be better than a sniper rifle in some situations Yuuta, "Maiko explained, "And a USP .45 handgun isn't that bad."

Yuuta dejectedly sighed.

Nanako held her new weapon ready, with her hand on the barrel rest and the other hand holding the handle with her trigger finger away from the trigger. She looked to the others and saw that they inspecting their new weapons and holding them accordingly. They gave each a look in the eye and nodded at each other and Nanako turned to Hitotsu. "Thank you," she said to the blacksmith.

Hitotsu shook his head. "You guys brought me back home, this is the least I can do. I'll give you smoke grenades and concussive rounds for your stash, I know you guys don't like killing."

Nanako bowed in thanks and turned to her friends. "Let's get going! Fenrir promised to train us and we're not backing down are we?"

Yuuta gave a thumb up. "Like I'd back down from that guy!"

Reiji handled his new shotgun. "You didn't even need to ask."

Miwa smiled at her best friend. "I'm with you guys all the way."

Maiko placed her sniper rifle in her pisyx and nodded to Nanako. "We still have a long way to go."

Nanako smiled at every one of them and they all set off. Hitotsu was still leaning on the wall as they walked out and smiled. "Youngsters, they have no idea what Lord Fenrir has in store for them."

* * *

**Aaannd it's time for Author's recommendations! For those who love Person4 a couple of stories here should be great to read!**

**Persona 4: Reach out to the truth, by El-Poofy, this is a retelling of Persona 4 with potential.**

**Working!, by College Fool, a funny fanfic of how Yosuke and the others try to help Souji. Key word, try.**

**Persona IV, by GerbilsRival, a combination of my two favorite games Persona 4 and Final Fantasy. This one's good.**

**Next Chapter forecast: Nanako and the others have new equipment and new weapons, but can Fenrir really make them stronger in three days? Especially since the deadline for the preliminaries draws closer and closer? Find out in the next chapter!**

**And as always, Read and Review, I want feedback bbbbaaaaddddlllllyyyy. **


End file.
